The Blue Side of the Force: Complements
by DWH
Summary: A somewhat different take on KOTOR, largely though not entirely from the perspective of a barefoot hippie Jedi. Adventure, drama, and general hilarity ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Leiraya Moran sat alone in her force cage.

Not that this was a new state of being, as Davik's thugs had rather ingloriously tossed her in there a few days ago, and nobody showed any signs of letting her out. Or letting her sleep. Or really letting her eat, for that matter. She didn't really think her daily bottle of water counted as eating, but at least she wasn't dehydrated. Yet.

_Of course, _she thought, _I really only have myself to blame._ Step number one to toughing it out: admit responsibility. It was true that, had she remembered to perform all the security checks when she was hacking into Davik's system, she never would have been caught. It was a novice mistake, and she was paying for it. _I at least got the codes… for all the good they're doing me._

She sighed and tried to make herself more comfortable. It was a nearly impossible venture, as force cages weren't designed for comfort. Her frustration, however, was curbed by a distraction.

The door was opening.

She quickly stood and straightened the icy green skirt that hung in voluminous folds to just below her knees, and brushed the dust from her fitted, sleeveless navy top and matching gauntlets. If it was another set of guards, she did not need to look as miserable as she felt.

Three people entered. One of them she recognized- Canderous Ordo, Davik's top man. It was odd, however, to see him with, well… anyone. Canderous, she had heard, was a loner. Too good to work with anyone else, or maybe the Mandalorian considered himself more honourable than the typical mercenary scum. His companions, however, were completely unfamiliar to her. There was one male, about six feet tall, she guessed. Dark hair, fair skin, overall decent looking. The female was shorter, also with dark hair, creamy skin, and brilliant blue eyes, and carried a lightsaber.

Ah. Jedi.

This was going to go over _wonderfully._

It wasn't that Leiraya didn't like the Jedi. In fact, she _was_ one of their Order, strictly speaking. It was more of a case of the majority of the Order disapproving of her particular branch of it. This disapproval could range anywhere from the shaking of heads to the outright disowning of her kind. She had no idea which school this one belonged to, yet, but things could get interesting.

Not seeing any point to continue with the staring competition, Leiraya spoke. "So, who are you, and what brings you to my humble abode?"

The male spoke first. "My name is Aiden Star… and we were told that you could give us the codes to the shields to the _Ebon Hawk_."

"Well, you sure jump straight to the point in a conversation. My name is Leiraya Moran, and I do, in fact, have the codes." She crossed her arms. "But you're going to have to take me with you if you want them."

The Jedi frowned. "Why is that? Can't you just give them to us, while we let you free?"

"Are you kidding me? I want off this planet. Davik will have all his thugs after me regardless, and I'd like to get some space between me and him." She smirked. "Besides, I don't have them written down, only memorized."

During this exchange, Aiden had taken the liberty of shutting down the force cage. "Now, I don't see any particular problem with bringing her along…"

The Jedi's eyes narrowed. "We do not need to have even more people _tagging along_, and I do not think-"

"You do not think what?" Leiraya's eyes narrowed, mirroring her expression. "That I'm trustworthy? That I'm worth the time?"

"Listen here, you…" the Jedi's hand dropped to her lightsaber, but Leiraya was faster. Quick as a flash, the lightsaber was in _her_ hand.

"You know, people keep waving weapons around and expecting everyone else to comply." Leiraya looked over the weapon. "Nice construction and all, but do you really have to shove it in peoples' faces?"

"A Jedi does not _shove_ a lightsaber in anyone's face. Besides, sometimes it is necessary to defend oneself."

"Necessary? I'm unarmed here, and you're talking about defending yourself?" Leiraya crossed her arms. "Somehow, I'm not buying your argument."

"I do not need you to 'buy' my argument, and even so, anyone with hands and feet is armed." Bastila looked dangerously close to using those weapons on Leiraya. Leiraya, on the other hand, looked as though she was gearing up for a lengthy debate, in spite of the fact that she was well aware that there was no time for arguing.

"Uhh… ladies?" Aiden's voice reminded them of where they were. They both turned to glare at him, and he had to consciously keep himself from taking a step backward. "Can we finish this later?"

The Jedi spoke first, keeping her tone neutral. "I expect that would be for the best. We really should move on."

Aiden, noting the continued resentful glares between the women, quickly responded. "Yes, yes we should." He turned on his heel and walked out the door, looking distinctly like he was trying not to look uncomfortable.

Annoyed counterarguments and insults continued to form in Leiraya's mind, screaming to be let out. However, the Jedi was correct in one respect- the sooner they left, the better. She could sense that something bad was brewing on the horizon, and sticking around would not be beneficial for anyone. Reluctantly, she handed the lightsaber back to the Jedi, who snatched it back rather ungraciously and followed directly behind Aiden and Canderous.

Shaking her head, Leiraya followed the trio out of her prison. That Aiden person, at least, seemed to be all right. Sprinting down the hall towards the hangar, she started to notice the building was shaking.

Shaking buildings were never a good sign.

Aiden had cracked into a security terminal, and was fiddling with something. "Got it," he announced with a degree of satisfaction. "Now let's get to that ship before this building decides it wants to do more than shake."

They ran into the hangar, but were stopped short by the sight of Calo Nord with Davik in his bright purple armour. Leiraya briefly wondered which fashion diva had designed it for him, but such thoughts were interrupted by the exchange between him and Aiden. _Of course, getting out of here isn't going to be _that_ easy._

Next thing she knew, Aiden thrust a few grenades at her. "Here, throw these."

"But-" she started to protest. She didn't suppose it was the best time to bring up the fact that she was a pacifist. Besides, the hangar was starting to fall apart around them, and living long enough to make it to the _Hawk_ would be preferable. She shook her head and stared at the grenades blankly for a moment, not quite sure what to do with them. Fortunately, she was spared making that decision as Davik was shot down. Calo Nord, on the other hand, was not about to be taken down so quickly. He whipped out a thermal detonator and yelled something only half-coherent about taking everyone with him.

"Quick, run!" Aiden shouted and motioned for them to sprint as far away as possible. Nobody argued, and Calo let off the detonator. At least, he would have, had the ceiling not chosen that particular moment to fall on him. Crushed beneath durasteel girders, he was effectively dead. Seeing that nobody was a threat any longer, except for perhaps the orbital fleet that appeared to be blasting the planet to shreds, if what was happening to Davik's estate was any indication, Aiden ran to the ship.

Leiraya was close behind, and she sprinted to the small terminal next to the ship that controlled the hangar shield system. Punching in the code she had memorized from the databases before her incarceration, she couldn't help but wonder if the hangar would hold up long enough for them to exit it. Finally, the shields went down, and they all ran inside.

"Come on, we'll go pick up your friends, and then we have to get out of here." Canderous ran to take over the cockpit.

Leiraya made it on board, but stumbled a bit once she was inside. She grabbed a wall to keep her balance, but she was apparently about out of adrenaline. The lack of food and sleep was finally catching up with her.

Aiden saw this. "Ahh… do you need some place to lie down?"

"I think so, yes." She closed her eyes and nodded. "I haven't slept in a while."

"Well, come on, then." She took his proffered arm for support, and stumbled along as he searched the unfamiliar layout of the ship for something that looked like bunks. Finally finding something on the far side of the ship, she mumbled a few words of thanks before completely collapsing. She was dimly aware of Aiden's retreating footsteps and the roar of the ship's engines, but she fell asleep before she could even process what may possibly happen next.


	2. Chapter 2

All around them, Taris erupted into flame.

Turbolaser beams cut through ships, buildings, and people. The _Ebon Hawk_ dodged shrapnel as it crazily soared to the Upper City South apartments. They made it with just enough time to hover above the walkway as Zaalbar tossed everyone, one by one, up to the landing ramp. He pulled himself up last, and the ramp closed even as he ran.

Carth ran immediately to the cockpit, where Canderous relinquished the pilot's seat to the more experienced pilot. He immediately punched the drive as fast as it would go, and they hurtled out of the burning remains of the once glorious Upper City.

They made it to space, but departure codes were not going to get them out of this mess anymore.

"Sith fighters coming in! Aiden, man the laser cannons, this is going to be a rough flight out!" Carth pulled the ship into a maneuver that most pilots wouldn't even have dreamed of attempting, and it definitely had Bastila hanging on to the co-pilot's chair for dear life. Aiden sprinted to the laser cannons and strapped himself in.

The targeting computer registered six targets. He was unfamiliar with the system, but he didn't suppose he had much of a choice, either. Immediately, he started blasting as fast as the cannons would let him. This took out two of the ships fairly quickly, but the remaining four were much trickier to catch. Between Carth's breakneck maneuvering, and the Sith fighters zooming every which way, it was near impossible to get a lock on them. Aiden swore it was merely dumb luck that allowed him to hit _any_ of them.

_Or, it might be the Force… not that I'd know the difference if it hit me over the head._

Finally, Aiden was able to dispatch the last of the fighters. "Got 'em!" he shouted into the ship's comm system. "Now let's get out of here before they decide to send something with even more teeth."

"Copy that," Carth agreed wholeheartedly. "Course set for Dantooine, and we're heading to hyperspace. Punch it!"

With that, the _Ebon Hawk_ winked out of sight, leaving the charred remains of a planet behind.

Aiden returned to the cockpit once they were in space, where he found Carth intently fiddling with the controls. "Having fun, there?"

Carth gave a half-smile. "Give a pilot a new ship to play with, and he'll have plenty of fun. This baby's got a lot of modifications, it's going to take a while to figure out what all of these controls do. I think I'm going to spend some quality time with her, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Aiden shrugged. "What else are we going to do… and what's our ETA, anyway?"

Bastila spoke up. "Dantooine is a two day journey from here, so you will have plenty of time to rest before we arrive."

"Works for me. I think I'm going to go find some food… I can't believe a crime lord like Davik wouldn't have a food synthesizer on his ship."

Carth chuckled. "Yeah, if nothing else, he'd probably keep his stomach in mind."

And so Aiden ambled off in search of a food synthesizer. During his search, he noted the layout of the ship. It seemed they had a swoop bike aboard, which Canderous was intently tinkering with, and several bunks available. Mission had retreated to the bunks near the landing ramp. He had rather hoped that she would set up shop on the same side as Leiraya, but he could also understand her need to be alone at the moment. Her home had just been blown to dust, and hanging out in a room with a sleeping stranger would not appeal to him in that situation, either.

Finally, he located a synthesizer in the cargo hold, of all places. And it was actually a nice, top-of-the-line model, too. _Gotta love ships pilfered from crime lords… _

He punched in a code that made up a meal that looked fairly edible, and then briefly thought that perhaps their sleeping passenger might like something, too. After all, if she hadn't slept in a while, it was also likely that they hadn't fed her, either. He shook his head. Bastila may not have been too keen on the idea of bringing the feisty young lady along, but he was certainly glad he had been able to retrieve one more person off the planet.

It was several billion people too few, but there was little point in dwelling on that line of thought.

Punching a few more buttons, he managed to concoct some sort of soup-like substance that was an odd shade of green, but at least smelled appetizing. He grabbed a spoon and a glass of water, and put it on a tray to take to her bunk. Sure enough, she was still sleeping. Not wishing to wake her up, he put the tray down on the bunk next to hers, hoping that maybe she'd notice it when she finally _did_ wake.

Until then, he was hungry.

After a few hours of exploring the control systems of the _Hawk,_ Carth decided it was time for a bit of a rest. He hadn't had very much down time since, well… since before the _Endar Spire_ was attacked. He stood and stretched, then headed towards the bunks. Aiden had already dropped by to warn him not to bother Mission for a while, and he was more than willing to comply. Poor kid… _though she'd punch my eye out if she heard me calling her that,_ he thought ruefully. She was, however, tougher than she looked, and he was confident that she'd be able to make it all right.

That left him heading towards the other side of the ship, where he was ready to kick off his boots and just take a nice, long nap. He yawned slightly as he rounded the corner-

-only to find that someone was already in the room.

Leiraya's friends had told her many times that she could, quite likely, sleep through nuclear holocaust.

This was only partially true.

She had been fast asleep for the last four hours, blissfully unaware of the events that had transpired during her slumber. However, she was very acutely aware of the sudden voice ripping into the room with a friendly greeting.

"Who the _hell_ are you, and what are you doing in here?"

Not yet fully awake, all Leiraya could do was follow her reflex, which immediately kicked her out of bed and into a defensive stance. Midway through her roll, she sensed that her caller did not appreciate sudden motion, and he was pulling out his blaster.

Well, that was a charming greeting. She briefly wondered if he had tested that one out on any other girls, to see if it worked.

Still, it would do her no good to be defenseless against him, even if she was pretty sure he wouldn't shoot. Quite often, the appearance of strength was enough to avert combat entirely. She reached out with the Force, hoping to pull in any weapons in the room. She found the closest thing she could, and within seconds it was in her hand.

Much to her dismay, she found herself holding a spoon.

_For the love of-_ she smothered a grimace, and put on her best determined face. _Why do I always find myself in these ridiculous situations?_

Oddly enough, the thoughts running through Carth Onasi's head were not much different.

_How do I manage to find myself in these ridiculous situations?_ he wondered. His blaster was still out of his holster, but what he saw was odd enough to knock him off-balance.

The woman standing before him was wearing a navy top that well concealed the dirt and charring it had endured. The icy green skirt she wore, however, did not. It was speckled brown in an irregular pattern from all the burn marks, some of which left tiny holes. Her feet were bare, her waist-length hair was a reddish-purple colour, and disheveled though she was, her hazel eyes showed her fierce determination. From her stance, he could tell that she was trained at least in self-defense, though she looked quite ready to take on the entire Sith fleet with the spoon she held out menacingly in front of her.

He lowered his blaster slightly. "Ahh… would you mind explaining how you got here?"

Spoon still at ready, she simply smirked. "That's some sort of greeting for the person who got you into this ship in the first place. I had the codes to the _Ebon Hawk's_ shields. My only price was getting off that planet."

"Well… I can't really blame you for that one. Even before it was blasted to smithereens."

The woman winced, and nodded. "Yeah, though I confess I'm doubly glad, now."

"I, ah…" he holstered his blaster. "I wasn't going to blast you or anything. I just hate surprises."

"Well," she said, finally lowering her spoon, "in that case, I suppose I won't have to subject you to the horror of a spoon attack."

Carth found himself laughing. "Oh, I'm shaking in my boots."

She put her hand on her hip and waved the spoon at him. "You haven't seen what I can do with a spoon, flyboy."

"Well, then you'll have to show me someday." He extended his hand. "I'm Carth Onasi, by the way."

She accepted the handshake. "Leiraya Moran. I guess we'll be getting to know each other over the next while. And I'm also guessing you wanted to sleep here… shall I relocate?"

"If it's too much trouble, don't bother."

"Oh no," she waved her hand dismissively. "I can use the walk around the ship, anyway. I'll be seeing you around." And with that, she turned and left.

Carth couldn't help but stare at the empty air where she had been standing. Certainly he'd met some interesting people in the course of his lifetime… but this Leiraya woman was another breed altogether. Shaking his head, he simply smiled and kicked off his boots. _At least I know I won't be bored while she's still around._

Carth woke to the sound of music.

Rolling out of bed and pulling on his jacket, he set out in search of the source. He did not have to look far.

Leiraya sat cross-legged in the middle of the cargo hold, strumming a stringed instrument and singing softly:

_The Road goes ever on and on_

_Down from the door where it began._

_Now far ahead the Road has gone,_

_And I must follow, if I can,_

_Pursuing it with eager feet,_

_Until it joins some larger way_

_Where many paths and errands meet._

_And whither then? I cannot say._

"That… that was really nice." He found himself speaking before he even realized the words were coming out.

Leiraya turned around, clearly startled. "I'm, ah… sorry to bother anyone, I figured I'd be out of the way back here."

"Don't apologize, it was beautiful." Even though he didn't usually care for music, he found himself really meaning it. _You're getting soft, Onasi,_ he inwardly scolded himself.

Leiraya shrugged with a tinge of embarrassment, and smiled. "It's not exactly what I'm used to playing on, the Corellian model is a bit different… but I found this in one of the storage bins, and I couldn't help it. It's been so long since I played."

"What was it?"

"A folk song I learned on Corellia. I don't know where it comes from, but I'm reminded of it every time I travel."

"Look…" Carth scratched his head. For the first time in a few years, he found himself just not knowing what to do with a person. He hadn't trusted anyone since before Telos, even people who deserved it. But the people he was travelling with were starting to erode his old defenses. Aiden started chipping away at the walls, and Leiraya's spoon had hit at a fracture point. Even Mission had managed to squirm her way into his good graces, and he didn't entirely mind.

He wasn't sure he liked this.

"Yeah?"

Leiraya's questioning voice broke his thoughts, bringing him back to the _Ebon Hawk._ "I, ah… I'm glad I didn't blast you."

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm glad you didn't blast me, too."

"You still have to show me what you can do with that spoon."

Leiraya smiled mischievously. "And someday, I will. But I can't reveal all my secrets the first day we meet, can I?"

"No," Carth agreed wholeheartedly. "No, you can't."


	3. Chapter 3

Bastila found Aiden in the main lounge, attempting to make the holoprojector run a game of dejarik.

"Well, we should arrive on Dantooine before too long, and I expect we can drop off a few excess people."

Aiden looked up at her in surprise. "Excess people? I wasn't aware we had any."

Bastila smirked. "Oh, I suppose they're all useful in their own way, but really, do we need a Mandalorian and a rogue Corellian Jedi along? Not to mention the Twi'lek and the Wookiee…"

"Every single one of those people has helped get us where we are now, Bastila." Aiden continued to fiddle with the console. "And what makes you think Leiraya is a rogue Jedi?"

"You must be joking." Bastila laughed derisively. "For starters, _all_ Corellians are rogues in their own way. Besides, the Corellian Jedi never leave their own system. What she could possibly be doing so far from home is beyond me, but she is definitely Corellian, and definitely odd."

Aiden was not about to argue that, her accent had given her away almost immediately. He did not, however, know much about the Corellian Jedi, or how they would be any different from any of the other Jedi. He suspected he would be finding out.

"Think what you will about them, but do keep in mind they're people, too." Aiden closed down the console, giving up on dejarik for the evening. "Even if they don't happen to have Force powers- or use them in the same way as you do." Bastila looked like she was ready to spit back a scathing reply, but she held her tongue.

"Lectures are something I do not need from _you,_ thank you. I get enough of that from my Masters, and they at least have the rank to back it up." She spun on her heel and left the room without saying anything further. Shrugging, Aiden stretched and headed off to his own bunk. Interpersonal relations could wait until they all had a good night's rest.

It had taken Leiraya three circuits about the ship to find the 'fresher.

One would think that a ship that had belonged to a crime lord in the Exchange would have had a nicer shower. This 'fresher unit, however, was so tiny that anyone larger than she would have to turn sideways to get through the door, and there was barely enough room for her to stand between the 'fresher itself and the shower. It was apparent that Davik valued economy of space over comfort in this particular instance.

However, she hadn't had a shower since before her imprisonment, and covered in sweat and debris as she was, she felt a shower was required. A cursory look at the system revealed that it was, at least, a high quality system that was unlikely to run out of hot water quickly. _Better than nothing,_ _I suppose._ She located the soap compartment, pulled the curtain around her, removed her slightly charred clothing, and commenced the cleaning process. It was going to take a good bit of time, given the sheer volume of hair she had- her tresses fell in plum-coloured locks to just below her waist. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to be asleep, so it seemed like a good time to commandeer the shower.

Humming softly to herself, she set in to enjoy her washing, cramped though it was.

Aiden Star was the first to stumble blearily into the 'fresher. Not being fully awake, he didn't notice that the shower was on. Or the lights. Or much of anything, for that matter. He was able to squeeze in through the door without injuring himself, though he had to catch himself on the wall to keep from falling. He stopped to rub his eyes for a moment when he finally _did_ take note of something. Of course, he would have had to be deaf to _not_ notice it.

In a screech three pitches higher than he was aware humans were capable of uttering, Aiden was made acutely aware of the fact that he was not alone in the 'fresher unit.

"Whoever you are, if you have any _shred_ of decency, you'll get out this instant!"

Aiden blinked. "Is that you, Leiraya?"

"No, it's T3." The voice from behind the curtain sounded dangerously irritated. "Of _course_ it's me."

"Well, how was _I_ supposed to know-"

"Why are you still talking to me?"

"I…" Aiden trailed off, paused, and shook his head. "I'll be going."

He squeezed himself back out of the 'fresher unit, completely befuddled by what had just happened. Of course, being awake usually aids in the understanding of such things, but if there was one thing he was quite certain that, even at his most lucid, he would never understand, it was definitely women.

Stretching and yawning, he stumbled back into his bunk and fell back asleep, quickly forgetting he had even tried to use the 'fresher.

It was not long after Aiden fell asleep that Carth Onasi woke, needing to use the 'fresher. He had a bit of difficulty fitting through the door, even turned sideways, but he made it in with a minimum of jostling. He yawned and surveyed the 'fresher unit, and couldn't help but wonder why Davik would put such a small unit on his ship. Turning around to face the shower, he paused. The water was running. That was not a good sign.

Unfortunately for him, the occupant of the shower had also taken note of his arrival. She also, apparently, had been disturbed before. Without warning, the curtain flew open, revealing Leiraya Moran, suds-streaked hair covering anything indecent, but doing nothing to hide anything else. "For the love of Corellian brandy-" she started to rant, then her eyes went wide. She hastily snatched up the bottom of the curtain and wrapped it around herself. "I, ah… thought you were someone else."

Carth was unable to say anything for a few seconds, his mind was too busy churning out a disturbing number of colourful images at record speed. His voice, however, finally found its way to his throat. "Am I interrupting?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, clearly saying, _what do you think?_ She held her tongue, however, and simply answered, "You might say that, yes."

"Well, I, ah… wouldn't want to keep you from showering."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I smell, flyboy?"

"No, no, I wasn't implying that… I'm sure you smell great." Even sleepy as he was, he inwardly grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth. "Not that I've been sniffing you or anything…"

He trailed off, realising he was only digging himself in deeper with every word. After pulling his blaster on her earlier in the day, and now talking about _sniffing_ her, she probably wouldn't ever speak to him again. Wouldn't be a first, but usually he stopped speaking to people because he just didn't trust them, not because he had acted so bizarrely that they started questioning his sanity.

Much to his surprise, however, Leiraya looked as though she was holding in gales of laughter. She was still wrapped in the shower curtain, but she appeared a little less tense than before.

Carth scratched his head. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no," Leiraya laughed. "It's just that that's one of the funniest responses I've ever heard. Not that people often walk in on me in the shower," she paused, "excepting tonight, but that was just classic."

"So…" he stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to say. "I'm not going be impaled with a spoon in my sleep?"

She grinned. "Not tonight, but you'd better be on your best behaviour- your record thus far isn't looking so hot." She paused and looked towards the door, and then pointedly at him. "And as much as I enjoy our chats, I've got limited hot water."

Carth blinked for a second, and then realised she was asking him to leave. "Oh, right. Well… have a good, uh, shower." He waved slightly, and stumbled back out the door.

Leiraya smirked at the doorway for a few seconds after he exited, then returned to her shower. _This is, without a doubt, going to be an interesting trip._


	4. Chapter 4

"So, I had the strangest dream last night," Leiraya related over her breakfast. Zaalbar looked up in mild curiosity, and T3 trilled inquisitively.

Aiden had just entered the room. "Yeah, me too… I was back on Deralia running one of my ocean patrols, when the water suddenly froze, and I was surrounded by Jedi who were ice-skating and having lightsaber duels." He scratched his head. "It was really weird."

Looking up from her food, Mission raised an eyebrow. "Ice-skating Jedi? Sounds like something out of a bad holovid."

"Yeah, you're telling me." Aiden nodded to Carth as he entered, and sat down with his breakfast. "Could've been worse, I guess."

"So what was your dream?" Mission turned back to Leiraya. "Was it weirder than ice-skating Jedi?"

"Well, it mostly involved people walking in on me while I was in the shower." Glancing up casually, she took note of the way both Carth and Aiden's faces were turning different shades of red. "Oh, wait… I forgot. That actually happened."

Mission's eyes went wide, and she had to keep herself from giggling. "Oh, man… you guys ever hear of knocking? I mean, sheesh…"

"It was an accident," Aiden said defensively. "Why would I try to walk in on her?"

Zaalbar wuffled innocently. Only half the crew could understand Shyriiwook, but everyone present caught the gist of it. "And here I thought you didn't talk." Aiden looked slightly disgruntled. "Besides, judging from the colour of Mr. Pilot's face over here, I wasn't the only one. So why don't you go bother him for a while?"

"Because you were the one to get defensive." Mission shrugged. "Nothing personal."

"Besides," Leiraya interjected, "It's interesting to see how many different shades Carth's face will go through before we find one that matches his jacket." At this, his face flushed bright red, clashing horribly with the bright orange of his flight jacket.

"I personally don't see what's so funny about it," Bastila spoke, finally deciding to enter the conversation.

"Funny about what? The incident, or his jacket?" Leiraya grinned wickedly.

Bastila narrowed her eyes and waved her fork in Leiraya's general direction. "You should not be so quick to torment the other crew members. This is still my mission-"

"-and we're in this together, _right?_" Carth interrupted, finishing the sentence for her. "At least until we get to Dantooine."

"Well, I suppose we are…"

"Then can we please knock off the disparaging remarks? Personally, I'd like to keep everyone together, especially if there's going to be more fighting."

"Whoa, whoa." Leiraya looked up sharply. "Back up the freedom airbus. I'm not interested in _fighting._"

"You're… what?" Aiden looked slightly confused. "But you're a Jedi, right?"

"Not all Jedi are into this whole fighting deal," she shot back defensively. "I'm a pacifist."

Carth looked at her incredulously. "Do you think you can honestly avoid fighting these days? The galaxy is at war, in case you hadn't noticed."

"And for what?" Her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes narrowed. "Some Jedi's dream of power. Revan should never have left for the Mandalorian Wars in the first place, and fighting isn't getting the galaxy anywhere!"

"And what, precisely, do you propose?" He looked at her angrily, fists clenched. "Sending them cookies?"

"It's better than trying to blow them up," she retorted. "No one deserves what we're doing to the galaxy."

"No one?" Carth looked as though he were on the verge of explosion. "You're trying to tell me that no one deserves to be destroyed?"

Leiraya looked him straight in the eye. "No, they don't! What could anyone do to deserve that?"

"Revan and Malak destroyed my homeworld- my family- my _LIFE_!"

Shocked silence followed. Carth's face fell, and Leiraya's face lost all its colour. They just stood there for several seconds, both unable to say anything. It was Carth who broke the silence first, muttering something about how he shouldn't have said anything, followed by him abruptly stalking out of the room.

Aiden looked at the door where Carth had left, and back at Leiraya. "What the hell was that all about?"

"I… I think I upset him."

"That's one word for it." Aiden shook his head. "You know, he's a trouble case to start with when it comes to the whole teamwork and getting along sort of thing, did you have to go and make him explode like that?"

"Do you think I purposely pushed a big red 'Make Carth Explode' button or something? How was I supposed to know he'd fly off the handle?"

"Well, I don't know what you did, but fix it." Aiden picked up the remains of his breakfast to dispose of. "We don't need exploding crew members."

Regaining some of her colour, Leiraya looked at him in irritation. "Right, and there's a quick fix for it, too." Not waiting for a reply, she stormed out of the room.

The time between breakfast and their arrival at Dantooine was altogether too long, and generally awkward for everyone aboard. Mission was still out of spirits, excepting random bursts of enthusiasm that no one could predict. Carth refused to do anything but examine the ship's controls, and no amount of coaxing from Aiden could get him to say anything about his outburst. He would only stare at the controls and mutter about how it wasn't important, and that he needed to focus on what he was doing. Bastila was in a bad temper for reasons she refused to disclose, and Leiraya was still worked up over the prospect of having to fight. Canderous kept apart from everyone else, for the most part, content to take the time to give his weapons a good cleaning.

After 12 hours of this, Aiden had decided that T3-M4 was good company.

Fortunately, the trip came to an end before anyone imploded. Carth brought the ship in to the docks at the Jedi Enclave, and the entire crew disembarked as soon as they could. One could always hope that a bit of fresh air would improve the dispositions of most of them, but most everyone's problems had roots that went deeper than staying on a ship for too long.

Bastila looked around, and sighed contentedly. "Dantooine. It feels like years since I've been here."

_Well, at least that made one person slightly happier_, Aiden thought. Out loud, he said, "So what's the plan from here?"

"Well, I need to go talk to the Jedi Council, to discuss… various different things. In the meantime, I imagine the rest of you can explore the Enclave. If any of you are needed, I'll send for you." Without any further explanation, she turned and walked towards what Aiden presumed was the entryway to the Enclave proper.

"Well…" Aiden looked around at everyone, and shrugged. "I guess we're on our own for the time being."


	5. Chapter 5

. Chapter Five 

It did not take long for Leiraya to decide that Dantooine was not her favourite planet. She hadn't wandered about for ten minutes before being accosted by three separate Jedi who felt the need to lecture her on her attire. "You're a Jedi," they would say. "Have you no respect for the garments of our Order?"

_I'll show _you_ garments of our Order,_ she thought darkly. All she wanted was a distraction. After wandering around long enough, she finally found a store that sold something besides weapons and 'droid parts. She didn't have many credits left in her utility belt, but she found enough to purchase a roomy shoulder bag that slung comfortably across her torso, and some scraps of forest green fabric to patch her skirt where the shrapnel of Taris had burned through.

She wandered absentmindedly through the halls of the Enclave, trying to amuse herself. Aiden had been called in to talk to the Council shortly after Bastila had left, and none of the rest of them really had anything to do. She did, however, seem to be quite good at sparking debate with her mere presence.

"You there- Padawan."

Leiraya turned around to see yet another Jedi in traditional garb. Resisting the urge to sigh and roll her eyes, she replied. "Yes?"

"Why are you not wearing the robes of the Order? Or are you like the man who came through after Bastila?"

_She must be talking about Aiden._ "No, I'm not exactly… I don't wear the traditional robes because I never have, and few people do where I come from." The response was becoming fairly automatic, but she didn't particularly care. "It is seen as an unimportant facet of what it means to be a Jedi."

"You disrespect our traditions so lightly." The Jedi narrowed her eyes. "You should not be so quick to do so."

"Look, I've had this argument several times already today, can you spare me the lecture? I've had it thoroughly driven into my skull that I'm an ungrateful wench of a Jedi who dresses funny, can we just let it rest?" She squeezed her eyes shut. This was shaping up to be a very, very long trip.

The other Jedi, however, looked taken aback. "I… perhaps I spoke harshly. I just believe respect for tradition is important."

Leiraya sighed. Now she'd gone and hurt someone's feelings. _I should just keep my mouth shut sometimes…_ "I know. And I shouldn't have bitten your head off. But it gets old. Point is- I get the point. And I'm not changing my clothes."

"Perhaps not. But I see further arguments will do me no good, so I will just bid you good day." With that, she turned and walked away.

Leiraya made a sour face. It wasn't even like she had anything against people who wanted to wear the traditional robes. She just had absolutely no interest in wearing them herself, which was, she supposed, half the problem they had with her. It didn't bode well, of course, for anything else, as she hadn't even begun to discuss the Jedi philosophy with anyone. And if they didn't like her clothing, they weren't going to like her philosophies, either.

"Why did I want to come out here, again?" she asked to the thin air.

"I thought it was to get off a doomed planet, myself."

"Aiden!" She whirled around to see Aiden and Bastila coming out from the Council chambers, followed closely by Carth. "So, how did your little meeting go?"

"I have absolutely no idea." He shook his head. "I think they're currently arguing about whether or not it's safe to train me as a Jedi. Something to do with my age, and large numbers of Jedi falling to the dark side."

"Ah." She nodded as though she understood, even though she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Rather than questioning further, she decided to change the subject. "So, are you about up for some food-like items?"

Aiden perked at the mention of food. "Absolutely- I'm starving. Is there a canteen around here?"

Leiraya nodded. "Yeah, I found it earlier. And they seem to be turning out some really nice-smelling food, so I'm in favour of heading in that general direction."

"Sounds good to me." Aiden stretched and yawned. "Man, it's been a long day… you been hanging out with the others?"

She grimaced. She'd known the question was coming, but it didn't endear it to her any. "Oh, I talked with Mission for a while, but that's about it."

Aiden nodded knowingly at what she had left unstated. "I see."

"I'll get around to talking to him when I get around to it, okay?"

"I didn't say anything," Aiden pointed out.

Leiraya wrinkled her nose. "You were thinking it."

The two walked in silence for the next few minutes. Leiraya was quite aware of the fact that she did, in fact, need to talk to Carth at some point. Problem was, she didn't have any idea what to say. "Oh, sorry your world was blown out from beneath you, my mistake" didn't seem to cut it. Perhaps it was a result of her spending so much time on Corellia, with its own subset of issues, that she didn't take into account how the Wars might have affected other people. It had apparently affected them in _very_ different ways. Unconsciously, she began to fiddle with the ring on her right hand.

Aiden took note of this. "What's that?"

"This?" She looked up, surprised he had noticed, and that he cared to ask. "It's just a gift, from a friend." Her voice grew quiet. "A long time ago."

"I thought Jedi didn't accept gifts."

"It was from another Jedi I knew," she shook her head, as though trying to shake off a bad memory. "A parting gift, as it were."

"Oh, did she have to go off on a mission or something?"

Leiraya looked up at him in annoyance. "First of all, he's a he, not a she. Second of all, I don't see it's much of your business about my old friends. Third of all…" she trailed off, seeing as she didn't really have a third reason. "Third of all, you're a jerk."

Aiden pointed at himself innocently. "Who, me?"

"That's not what I meant." She massaged her temples wearily. "It was an inside joke with yet another of my old friends, I keep forgetting they're not around anymore. You're not really a jerk, at least I don't think so yet, it's just the standard response."

Aiden was quite prepared to react somewhat angrily, as he certainly didn't make a habit of calling people jerks at random. But before he could shoot off his biting reply, he looked at her and saw something he hadn't before. He didn't know if it was because they were busy, or because she was really good at hiding it, but one look at her face at that moment was more telling than any conversation could have been.

She was lonely.

Lonely, and probably very homesick. If Bastila had been truthful when she said that Corellian Jedi never left the system, it could very well be her first time in the galaxy proper. Aiden had never thought about it much, he'd been visiting worlds with his mother as long as he could remember, tagging along with the Junior Watchmen heading to their first-year training programs.

It didn't erase the annoyance, but it killed the retort that had almost slipped out. Instead, he shifted to a more neutral statement. "Don't sweat it."

The two did not exchange any more words until they reached the canteen, when completely non-controversial conversation could be held, largely pertaining to the quality of the food, and whether or not the cook would reveal his recipe for the guunga fruit tarts.

It was all quite trivial and quite annoying for all involved. The dinner was brief, and ended with Leiraya excusing herself to take a walk around the enclave, even though they weren't allowed to leave yet.

Watching her departure, Aiden couldn't help but sigh ruefully. His life had the somewhat unlucky trademark of being consistently interesting.

But there are some varieties of interesting one can gladly live without.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six 

Carth barely left the _Ebon Hawk_ for three days.

He, of course, justified it to himself by saying that the ship had nonstandard systems, and he needed to know how to repair them. And in order to do that, he needed to thoroughly examine the mechanics. Truth be told, he knew that it wouldn't take long to do a spot check of the systems to make sure that everything was in at least a semi-recognizable form, and he had a decent grasp of how most systems worked. However, he was in a foul temper, and he knew from experience that it was much better to stay far out of everyone's way if it could be arranged.

In fact, the only reason he finally left the ship was because he got the word that the Council had _finally_ come to a consensus on whether or not to train Aiden, and he was in. This allowed everyone else free movement in and out of the Enclave, much to the relief of all.

_All I need,_ he told himself, _is a good long walk. Yeah, that'll make life better._

Like anything was likely to make his life better.

"Ms. Moran, I presume?"

Leiraya nodded as she stood somewhat nervously before the Dantooine Council. For whatever reason, they had decided to call her in, and even though she had stood before the Corellian Council multiple times in the past, she was decidedly uncomfortable in the presence of these particular Jedi. The whole place made her uncomfortable, and she had finally isolated at least the main reason for it- all these people were so _normal._ Sure, she'd grown up being told that the Corellian way wasn't really the traditional one, and that was all fine and good, but to suddenly be surrounded by normal people was a touch disconcerting.

"You are from Corellia- it is rare to see one such as you so far from home." The Master in the centre, Vandar, was a diminutive green alien with a wizened face and large, pointed ears. He seemed to smile, and looked at her curiously. "What brings you here, I wonder?"

"And in such company," the Master on his right stated sourly. That one, she believed, was Master Vrook. "You have an odd way of landing yourself in the middle of trouble."

"Corellians are historically known for having such talents," the Master on the far left pointed out. The Chronicler, Dorak, if she remembered correctly.

Master Vrook crossed his arms. "They're also historically known for somewhat less savory activities, but I hardly think we need to bring that up."

"Master Vrook, please." Vandar looked at him admonishingly.

"I only speak common knowledge," he huffed.

"Can I say something?" Leiraya raised her hand somewhat cautiously, unable to keep the obvious _hello, I'm here, too _out of her voice.

The three masters turned to look at her. She immediately regretted saying anything, as she was horribly out of her element, and they knew it.

Master Vrook's lips turned to an almost undetectable sneer, "So the Corellian wants to speak for herself? Unheard of."

"Master Vrook, that is quite enough." Vandar pounded his walking stick on the floor emphatically. "She may speak for herself."

"Well enough, then," he harrumphed. "Why are you here, Ms. Moran?"

"Well… it largely involved escaping from a doomed planet, to cover only recent events." _Smooth,_ she silently berated herself. _Like they don't know that part already._ "If you want to know something a little further back, ah, I guess I could tell you that, too."

"Enlighten us, please." Master Vrook scowled. "We've not the time for such inane comments."

_I wish you'd knock off that condescending tone,_ she inwardly fumed. Composure, however, was necessary if she was to come out of this encounter in one piece. She thought it rather unfair that a simple meeting should have such a sense of impending doom, but there it was. "If you want to know why I left Corellia, and if it was for some nefarious purpose, you'll be happy to know it wasn't. I'm just looking for someone. And I got sidetracked. The Sith quarantine put something of a damper on my plans."

"It is most unusual," Master Vandar said thoughtfully, "that a Padawan such as yourself would be travelling alone on a search mission."

"It wasn't supposed to get this complicated," she replied somewhat lamely. Of course things were never supposed to be as complicated as they were. "I volunteered. It was a friend, and my Master thought it would do me good to handle a relatively simple mission on my own."

"And now you find yourself here. Curious." Master Vandar was silent for a few seconds. "Young Aiden Star is beginning his training, you know this?"

Leiraya was slightly thrown by the sudden change of subject, and took a couple of beats to respond. "Yes, I'd heard as much."

"Would it be too much of an imposition on your mission to stay and aid in his efforts?"

"Master Vandar!" Master Vrook interrupted, almost venomously. "You can't be serious. She's just a Padawan, and the philosophies of the Corellians-"

"Will only help Aiden to gain a more well-rounded view of the Force." Master Vandar narrowed his eyes at Vrook. "Unless you have a problem with our young initiate learning of non-violent conflict resolution strategies?"

Master Vrook looked ready to protest, but instead he sighed. "Fine, she may stay if she wishes. But I'll be watching closely, mind you. No telling what those underwater wicker basket-weaving classes of yours might've brought forth…"

Master Vandar seemed to smile, and turned back to Leiraya. "Well, young Padawan… do you wish to stay?"

"Well, I…" She actually hadn't gotten that far in her thinking. On the one hand, yes, she really did want to continue her search, and she could probably do a lot of poking around from Dantooine. Besides, the crew of the _Ebon Hawk_ had kind of grown on her. She didn't _want_ to rocket off and leave them all behind. Her other options mostly included continuing on her own, and that held very little appeal. After a few moments consideration, she came to a conclusion. "I guess I'll stick around a while."

"Very good," Master Vandar nodded and smiled. "I suspect you'd rather be anywhere else at present, so you may go ahead and take your leave."

"Thanks," she half-bowed, unsure of what was customary, and scampered out of the room.

_Finally,_ she thought with a good deal of relief. _And here's hoping I never have to do that alone again._

Master Vrook scowled after the padding of her bare feet against the stone floor was no longer audible. "I don't like the idea of letting her influence him. She doesn't know who or what she's dealing with."

"Nor should she," Vandar stated firmly. "Young Aiden Star is a special trainee, certainly, but he ought to be treated as any of our other students. He will learn from his peers as well as from his Masters. Even he does not appreciate fully what he is dealing with."

"And I question that decision as well, but I know I'll get nowhere trying to argue it." Vrook sighed in resignation. "I suppose we'll just have to trust that Bastila knows what she is doing, of which I also have my doubts, but she is capable."

"She is headstrong," Master Dorak mused. "But we can only hope she has learned from recent events."

"Yes, indeed." Vandar sighed heavily. "These will be interesting days."

Carth hadn't informed anyone when he left the Enclave. He just needed out of the area for a while. Off the ship, and into open space where he wouldn't have to deal with much of anyone. There were, of course, the Kath hounds to deal with, but a few quick blaster shots were usually enough to deal with the ones so foolish as to cross his path. He hiked for quite a long time before even thinking of stopping. Spotting the edges of what looked like a large pond over the next hill, he decided to aim for that general direction.

_All I need is some time away from people,_ he told himself. _Yeah, that's it. Too many people at the Enclave. Makes me twitchy._ _And ponds are peaceful. Nice, calming waters…_

Reaching the top of the hill, he was met with a sight that made him anything but calm.

Immediately upon retreating from the Jedi Council chambers, Leiraya had practically run out of the building, eager to get away from the masses of staring Jedi. _So this is what it feels like on the other side,_ she thought ruefully. Any time a more traditional Jedi came to Corellia, he was usually met with general ridicule, and wasn't taken very seriously at all. They were treated as something akin to an exotic exhibit at the zoo, which she was finding was not a pleasant experience. She vowed that, should she ever make her way back to Corellia, she would never point and stare at a normal Jedi again. _No _wonder_ nobody likes us, if they feel like this every time they come by._

After dodging several packs of Kath hounds, and getting beyond the general civilization of the area, she broke into a run. It was just like running back home, bare feet in the grass and long hair blowing behind her. She smiled, running carefree until her legs no longer felt like carrying her. She found herself by a pond, and sat down on a rock with her feet in the water and sat there for a good, long while.

The silence was nice. Well, not quite silence. There were chirping insects around, birds flying overhead, the wind blowing through the trees, and the sound of the water gently sloshing around her ankles.

Her ears perked at a new sound. Something walking through the grass. She hadn't thought Kath hounds came out this far, but she could be wrong. Cautiously turning around and reaching for a stick that had been floating in the water, she waited for the predator to appear.

She was only somewhat disappointed to see Carth's head appear, followed by that ridiculous orange jacket and the rest of him. From the look on his face, he clearly hadn't expected to find anyone else this far away from the Enclave, either. The two of them merely stood staring at each other for a few long moments, neither having any particular desire to say anything to the other.

It was Carth who broke the silence first. "You're pretty far from the Enclave."

Leiraya shrugged. "True enough. Same could be said for you, though I imagine your reasons are somewhat different."

"What, are the warrior ways of the Jedi oppressing you?"

"No," she replied testily. "But the fact that I couldn't walk down a corridor without feeling like a walking freak show was starting to wear on my nerves."

"Oh." He was silent for a few moments. "Look… I, I shouldn't have blown up at you. You know, earlier."

"I, ah…" Leiraya fumbled for words, she hadn't been expecting _that._ "Do you want to come down here so we don't have to keep shouting at each other?"

There was a slight pause, then the obvious seemed to click. "Oh, right." He quickly trotted down the hill. "This a better conversational range?"

Leiraya half-smirked. "Quite."

"Anyway, I just… it's complicated." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "But I shouldn't have taken it out on you, I'm sure you have your own reasons for believing what you do."

"I… appreciate that." Her half-smirk turned to a genuine smile. "I'll just have to remember to be careful about when and where I get on my soapbox. I've heard I can be a bit overbearing."

"A bit?" Carth stifled a laugh. "I don't know where the soapbox came from, but you definitely got your point across forcefully."

"It's a long story where the soapbox came from, and it resulted in a rather sharp disagreement." Leiraya's smile faded somewhat. "But I'm sure you'd rather be spared that particular sordid tale."

"Sweetheart, I'm always up for a good sordid tale. I've got nowhere to be, and I think I've optimized every system on the _Ebon Hawk_ twice." He sat down on one of the rocks by the pond. "You've got a captive audience."

Leiraya sighed, sat down on the rock next to his, and pulled the silver ring off her right hand. "See this?"

Carth examined it for a moment. "A ring?"

"Yes. A mobius, to be more specific. Often exchanged on Corellia between good friends, as it's seen as being even more symbolic than a typical ring."

"How's that?"

"Take a close look- a mobius is a one-sided figure."

Carth traced the tip of his finger around one side of the ring, and discovered she was right- he took a full circuit about the inside _and_ the outside of the ring, ending up where he had started. "That's really kinda strange."

"But I'm sure you can imagine the fun the poets and literary type people can have with it. A ring is continuous and infinite, but still has two opposing sides. A mobius is also continuous and infinite, but has no opposing sides because each side _becomes_ the other." Her eyes lost some of their sparkle, and she paused for a moment. "But I'm definitely getting ahead of myself. Have you ever had a friend who you probably should've hated?"

Carth thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I can think of one or two."

"I had a friend- Kylan- and I have no idea why we were friends. We didn't agree on anything. He was always making fun of my funny hair colours, I was always teasing him about his wardrobe… and that's not even getting into the political aspects." She smiled slightly at the memory. "I think we had so many debates that eventually we just couldn't deal with _not_ debating with each other. It was a strange sort of relationship, but it worked.

"It's always great to be thrust into the world of adulthood when some major galactic disaster is brewing- I mean, we'd been of age for a few years, but we were still the enthusiastic young people trying to make a difference, you know? When you're 23, the galaxy doesn't care about your legal status, you're still too young to fully grasp the situation. They said I hadn't seen enough of the galaxy to understand. Maybe they were right." A somewhat self-deprecating smile spread across her lips. "But I'm really wandering off-topic. Anyway, Kylan. He and I definitely did not see eye-to-eye on the whole Mandalorian issue. I won't bore you with a transcript of our debates, but I'm sure you can imagine approximately how they went."

Carth scratched his head. "I've got something of an idea, yeah."

"Well, he and I worked together, Corellian Waterfront Safety Patrol. I always liked working with him, even though he constantly poked fun at my lack of correct usage of hand signals. And we would, of course, end up having our debates right out there on the beach, too." She shook her head ruefully. "Stubbornness got us both in the end, I guess. One day I showed up to work, and he wasn't there. He just left a box with his uniform, a holocube explaining where he went, and the ring."

"You mean he just up and left? Some friend." Carth was unable to keep the contempt from his voice. If there was one thing he had no respect for, it was those who abandoned their friends.

"He was a pretentious son of a shoikler." She had to fight to keep the tears from welling over. "And I miss him so much." Pausing to collect herself, she took a deep breath and continued. "He meant well, he said he wanted to fight to bring the peace. And I thought that when the Wars ended, he'd come home, but he didn't. Maybe he ended up fighting in this new war. I don't know, but whatever he was trying to achieve, I don't think it worked."

The two of them sat silently for several moments, watching as the sun slowly sank behind the distant hills. Carth had to admit, he wouldn't be impressed with her friend either, and if that was her only experience with a soldier, then it was hardly surprising she was against the war. Maybe she took it to an extreme, but at least she had her reasons. Force knew he did.

"Listen…" Carth searched for the right words to say, but none seemed to come. "I'm sorry."

She waved him off. "Don't be. It's not your fault."

"I know it's not… but I do understand. Betrayal hurts."

Leiraya raised a curious eyebrow. "You have a sordid tale you'd like to amuse me with?"

"Maybe another time. I think we've had enough story time for one day, and everyone's probably wondering where we are." Carth stood and extended a hand. "Can we call a cease-fire?"

Smiling, Leiraya accepted the proffered hand and stood as well. "Only if you promise to tell me your depressing story."

Carth raised his free hand. "On my honour as a soldier."

Shaking his hand to seal the deal, she grinned. "Good. Now let's go find everyone else. I'll bet they have some decent food by now."

The duo made their way back to the Enclave, each feeling more at ease for the encounter. _You find_, Leiraya mused,_ that understanding can come from the least likely corner sometimes._ It didn't wipe away the pain, or clear out the bad memories, but for the first time since she'd left Corellia, she didn't feel alone.

It was, she decided, a distinctly good feeling.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven 

"Aiden, you're missing the point of this exercise entirely."

"You're just sore because you're losing."

"That is entirely not true." Bastila tossed her head and smirked, the hum of her lightsaber underscoring her words. "On the contrary, I believe I have you cornered."

"You wha- ooof!" Aiden sucked in air as he stumbled backwards and hit the ground. Bastila had planted a solid kick to his stomach, and thumbed off her saber with a grin.

"The _point_, Aiden, is to realize what your opponent is going to do before she actually does it. Listen closely to the Force, and hear its whispers." She extended her hand. "That way, you won't find yourself flat on your posterior regions every time you fight."

Accepting her hand, he got up off the floor. "So the Force comes with an interactive combat help guide, huh?"

"I wouldn't put it quite like that… but yes, in a sense." She clipped her saber to her belt. "That's enough for today, though. You did well."

"Thanks." Aiden brushed the dust off his pants and put the training saber back in the cabinet he had retrieved it from. He really rather hoped to be building his own soon, as the balance in the training sabers never felt quite right. He couldn't explain exactly why, but his hands seemed to know precisely what they wanted. Could just be something to do with the Force… he'd heard of the bond between a Jedi and his lightsaber. Something unquantifiable that made it operate like the extension of one's own hand.

Speaking of bonds… "So, Bastila. The Council said something about that bond of ours, but I don't quite understand it. Care to enlighten me?"

She seemed to grow somewhat uncomfortable at the mention of the bond, but she threw a small smile on her face. "It is unusual, to be sure. I do not quite understand its nature, myself. But somehow, for whatever reason, a bond has been forged between us. I can only believe it is the will of the Force. Beyond that, I cannot say."

Aiden considered this for a moment. It wasn't much more than she'd said back on Taris, so he decided to probe a bit further. "So… does this just mean we have a few shared visions, or is there more going on that I just can't sense because I'm new at this?"

"Well," she paused, as though trying to pull the answer out of the air. "The visions are a central part of it, yes. It will probably also result in each of us being able to sense the feelings of the other quite strongly."

"Feelings, eh?" A wry grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I thought you Jedi didn't have feelings."

"First of all, _you're_ a Jedi now, too, so none of that 'you Jedi' business. Second of all, of course we have feelings. We just don't let them control us."

"Ah." He nodded sagely. "So mostly we'll just be stuck having each other in our visions."

Bastila shrugged. "As far as I can tell, though I confess that doesn't mean anything at this stage."

"I don't know how I feel about that." Aiden crossed his arms and grinned easily. "I mean, you keep showing up in my dreams, and maybe I'd rather be dreaming about someone else."

"Me in your dreams? How do you know it's not you in mine?" She crossed her arms and smirked.

"I…" he paused. Actually, he _couldn't_ prove it to the contrary. Not yet. "I'm smart like that?"

"Nice try, but you'd best try your 'smartness' in other areas."

Aiden looked at his chrono, suddenly reminded that he did, in fact, have other areas to be in. "Speaking of smartness, I've gotta run. I'm supposed to study some philosophy with Leiraya before lunch."

"Oh, well have fun with _that._"

Ignoring the obvious sarcasm, he waved jauntily and jogged out of the room. He still wasn't sure why the women didn't get along… individually, they were both good fun to be around. Put them together in a room for too long and they'd start snipping at each other until nobody wanted to talk anymore. He could see a lot of similarities between them, though- both were stubborn, and quite set in their own ways. Actually, that was probably the problem right there.

A cursory glance at the sky revealed that a storm was approaching quickly. _Funny,_ he thought. _First bit of inclement weather I've seen since we landed._

He supposed, then, he ought to run.

Few things in the world are more calming than a steady rain shower.

Not that Leiraya had been through a particularly stressful day. She'd communicated with her Masters back on Corellia, to confer about the slight change in plans. They thought it was wonderful that she was making herself useful in a fellow Jedi's training, and that she was seeing another end of the galaxy. She wasn't quite convinced it was all _that_ wonderful yet, but she was also willing to give it time.

She'd been allowed to run a few searches on the major newsnets, to see if she could find any information regarding her search, but nothing interesting came up. Frustrated, she decided to find a grassy patch outside and sit. Some Jedi needed a dark, bare room to meditate, but she was much more at peace out of doors. It wasn't long before the storm clouds literally rolled in, bringing a swath of rain across the fields, but she didn't run inside like many of the other people.

Instead, she sat contentedly, eyes closed, letting the rain drench her quite thoroughly. It had been a good long time since she'd been out for a decent rainstorm, and she was happy to sit back, feel the slightly cool breeze, and enjoy the smell of wet grass.

"You're wet."

Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Aiden standing above her. "And you're not?"

"Well… I am, but I'm not the one just sitting out in the middle of the plains."

There was a slight pause. "I take it you'd rather go inside to talk philosophy?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"You're demanding." She scrunched up her face sourly, but got up off the ground. The two of them quickly made their way to shelter, and Leiraya found an empty room. After wringing the water out of her skirt, she hauled her shoulder bag on to the table and yanked out a couple of datapads.

"So, what exciting philosophy lessons do you have planned for me today?" Aiden grinned, shaking the water from his hair.

"Colour theory." She grabbed the stylus from one of the datapads and used it to twist her hair into a barely controlled bundle. "It's the best place to start, really."

Aiden stood there and scratched his head for a moment. "Colour theory… like, art class?"

"Somewhat, except not exactly." She plopped down into the nearest chair. "I'm sure you've heard about the light side and the dark side, right?"

"Repeatedly." He moved to seat himself in the chair across from hers. "I think the Council would tattoo 'light side good, dark side bad' on my forehead if they could."

"Well, everything you know about black and white, and even grey… forget it. At least for a little while. We're going to look at a slightly more colourful, and a heck of a lot more interesting way to think about the Force." She pulled up a colour wheel on her datapad. "The Jedi have this fixation on black and white. More open-minded people will tell you that there are many shades of grey between them. What they fail to recognize is that light and dark are merely the presence and absence of colour."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that, by the scientific definition of how light works, pure white light is no more than the combination of all possible colours, and pure blackness is the absence of all colour. I've never met a Jedi who was truly white, and if I ever meet a Sith I sincerely doubt he will be perfectly black."

"So wait a minute." Aiden paused to digest the information. "Is this some sort of spiffed-up power like Bastila's battle meditation?"

Leiraya shook her head. "Nope. It's just a different way of looking at things. For instance, my Masters back home. A very laid-back bunch of people, not given to bouts of temper, or any emotional extremes, for that matter. This isn't to say they never get angry, but they're overall fairly calm. They have very _blue_ tendencies."

"And what, precisely, makes someone blue?"

"Blue is a very cool, relaxing sort of colour. If someone feels blue, then he probably has a very free-flowing sort of personality. Not to mention depth, especially hidden depths. Of course, this varies from culture to culture, largely between alien species. But for now we're concerned with the way you see the Force and the effect lifeforms have upon it."

"Okay… that sort of makes sense, but how do you _feel_ blue?"

"Well," Leiraya paused to collect her thoughts. "I guess it kind of goes the other way around- if I identify someone as being a very free-flow kind of person, I'm going to associate them with the colour blue. You're not going to close your eyes and see all the pretty colours, even though that would be pretty nifftacular."

"Did you just say 'nifftacular'?"

"We're here to discuss the Force, not my vocabulary."

"But that's not a word."

"It is now, and don't try to change the subject. We're talking about colours here, darn it."

"Sorry. Forgot."

"No you didn't, you're just being difficult." In spite of her annoyed tone, she clearly wasn't all that bothered by the temporary derailment of the conversation. "You're just not used to thinking of things in terms of colour, rather than black and white. It's more complicated, I'll give you that… but life is always more complicated than we want to make it."

"Okay. So say I buy into this philosophy of colours. What does it matter?"

"Matters plenty. If you can figure out what colour everything is, and if you know how colours interact, you're in business. Experience tells me that colours in the Force work much the same way as colours would anywhere else, so it's just a matter of knowing your theory, and knowing it well." She shrugged. "It's always come relatively easily to me, but maybe that's just because I'm artsy. Are you at all artsy?"

Aiden snorted. "I think I can successfully draw a stick figure. Maybe. But I won't make any promises."

"Hmm. Maybe this isn't the best approach… but you should give it some thought. People who limit the world to shades of black and white are missing most of the picture." She sat for a moment, trying to think of a better way to explain it. Fortunately, it wasn't long before an idea popped into her head. "Let's take a look back outside."

The two of them stood up and ventured back towards the outdoors. The storm appeared to have passed, and they were left with the usual cheery blues and oranges of the midday sky, streaked with deep violet clouds. "All right. What does the sky make you think of?"

"Uhh…" He had to stop and think about it, as he actually had never really tried to quantify the colours of the sky. "Well… that strip of clouds on the horizon, the dark purple ones, look kind of ominous."

"Good, dark purple often signifies gloom and despair. Anything else?"

"It's hard to say… I can't pick any _one_ thing the rest of the sky seems to represent. It's… contrasty."

"That, my friend, is because blue and orange are direct complements. Gives the most visual punch, and draws the eye. Results in some interesting side properties, but those can wait for later." Leiraya grinned. "You're doing pretty good. It takes some getting used to, especially for someone who's only ever thought about the Force in monochrome."

"Try 'someone who's never bothered to think about the Force at all.'"

She shrugged. "The light versus dark dichotomy is pretty prevalent in most areas, even if it's just some obscure poetry or something. As I said earlier, it's an easy way to sort things."

"But colour is more interesting…" he trailed off. "Is this your own theory?"

"Goodness no. It's been passed down through several generations of Jedi where I come from. I always used to think it was why the rest of the Jedi thought we were nuts, but they're letting me tell you about it, so maybe that's not the problem."

"Do they really think you're nuts?"

Leiraya laughed self-deprecatingly. "Well, they mentioned something about my underwater wicker basket weaving classes."

"Is _that_ where all the wicker baskets come from?"

"No!" She put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at him. "Keep that up, and I'll just get a transport back home. I don't _have_ to stay with you people, you know."

"What's this 'you people' you refer to? Like it or not, you're one of the crew." Aiden grinned. "Unless something drastic happens, you're stuck with us."

"Charming." She smiled sardonically, and turned to go back inside.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Lesson's over- you can go have fun doing whatever it is you do for training. Me? I've got myself a paranoid pilot to find."

With that, she strode out of sight. Aiden was left staring at the sky, wondering at what she'd said about colours. He definitely didn't quite understand yet, but that was true with a lot of things he was studying at present. Checking his chrono, he saw that he had about an hour until he had a session with Master Zhar. About enough time to grab a meal and let it digest sufficiently, just in case there was combat training involved.

"Work, work, work…" he muttered with a grin. He could definitely be doing a lot worse.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight 

"What's this thing do agai- ow!"

"What did you do this time?"

"It bit me!" Leiraya extracted herself from the pit in which she had been tinkering. Since it had been decided that she was to stay with the crew, Aiden had insisted that she learn how to do something useful if she wasn't willing to fight. After deciding that months of dishwashing were likely to make her brain implode, she settled on learning to repair and maintain the _Hawk_. The first day she'd attempted to learn anything hadn't gone so well- Canderous hadn't taken a terrible amount of liking to her pacifistic streak, so almost nothing got done while they argued. At the end of the day, she knew where the tools were, but that was approximately all she could claim. This was clearly not helpful, and thus Carth was relegated to teaching her to repair things.

"Well, maybe next time you shouldn't stick your hand in there while you're tightening it down."

"You could've warned me." She examined her fingers, noting a small trail of blood inching its way towards her palm. "I didn't know it was going to snap shut like that."

"Don't you Jedi have some sort of danger sense to keep that sort of thing from happening?" Carth rummaged through his pockets, trying to find a small bandage. Having no success, he walked over to the medkit to pull a new one out. "At least, that's always the impression they liked to give us during the war."

"I guess… though it's really not supposed to be a big deal when you're in the process of tightening a bolt down." Carth handed her the bandage, and she deftly wrapped it around the abused finger. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. And I think we'll call that enough for today." He picked up the hydrospanner she'd dropped on the floor and placed it back in the tool box. "Maybe tomorrow we'll work on putting things back together without killing yourself."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ inept." She sat silent for a few moments, stroking her finger until she remembered something. "You owe me a story."

"Pardon?"

"A story. I told you about Kylan, you promised you'd tell me about… whatever it is that makes you so frustrating."

"I'm not frustrating. _You're _the frustrating one here."

"See? You're nice until you hear something you don't like." She wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "You should really stop that."

"I'm not-" he broke off, shaking his head. "I'm not going to get anywhere with this, am I?"

Leiraya paused to consider. "Not until you tell me your story."

"Fine. I already told Aiden, so what the hell… I told you that Malak destroyed my home. Telos, to be specific. It was one of the first worlds to be targeted by the Sith fleet. It was…" he trailed off, at a loss for words. "I can't even describe it, even after it's played back in my head a million times over. It caught us completely by surprise. Republic troops." He laughed bitterly. "Our own men and women. They decided that the Republic just wasn't good enough anymore. In some ways, I think, they're worse than even Revan and Malak.

"My mentor, Admiral Saul Karath, was at the head of the fleet that destroyed the planet."

_Karath._ Where had she heard that name before? "That name sounds familiar…"

"I'm not surprised. He was pivotal in the Republic Navy during the Mandalorian Wars. Taught me everything I know about being a soldier, and then some. He is- well, he _was_ a good man. I think that's why it blindsided us all. I can see, looking back, that towards the end he was trying to turn me against the Republic, to convert me to the Sith. But at the time I just couldn't conceive of it. It couldn't have been possible. It _shouldn't_ have been possible." He sighed. "And that cost us the lives of far too many."

She nodded slowly. "I can see how that would be upsetting."

"That's one way to put it."

There were a few moments of silence. "Well, at least that explains why you pulled a blaster on me the first time we met."

"_You_ try finding a stranger in your bunk and see how you feel about it." Carth snorted derisively. "There have already been too many strange coincidences on this trip; finding a random extra person was unsettling."

"Strange coincidences?"

"It's a long story." He waved the question off dismissively. "But I have no doubt that more will occur, so you'll see your fair share of coincidence before this is over. Whatever 'this' is, anymore."

"What was it before?"

"A mission for the Jedi. Trying to rescue Bastila. Escaping that damned planet." Carth shook his head. "The objectives are changing so often I can hardly keep track of them. And now we're stuck here on this Jedi planet with nothing to do."

"Well," she paused, "you could always develop one of your latent talents."

"Such as what?"

"Oh, I don't know… maybe you were born to be a tap dancer, but you went into the military instead."

The sheer ridiculousness of the statement was slightly more than Carth was accustomed to, but it brought a grin to his face. "I somehow doubt that, and I don't think I need a hobby, but I can take a hint and find something to do."

"But not tap dancing?"

"Probably not."

"Oh well, I tried."

Carth looked at her curiously. Leiraya was an oddity, no two ways about it. He'd been in the military for so long that he rarely ran into anyone that didn't support the war. He knew they existed, but they were more of a theoretical entity than anything else. Certainly he never would have guessed he'd end up working peaceably with one. Talk about counterintuitive.

She noticed his look. "You look like you have something to say."

"It's nothing," he shrugged and stood. "Good work on the ship- I think we can call it a day."

"Sounds lovely." Leiraya picked herself up and brushed the dust from her skirt. Practical it may not have been, but it was all she had left of home, and was far more comfortable than a combat suit, or those blasted traditional robes. The Council had given her a set of robes after determining she would stay with Aiden, but they still sat packed away in a footlocker.

Some things weren't worth changing. Others were just resisted out of sheer stubbornness.

"The grove _is_ out here somewhere, right?"

"Yes… I think."

"Oh, that's some fearsome show of leadership." Mission put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "We've been wandering around here for a couple of hours, you'd think we'd have found it by now."

"The kid's right, and I'm certain we've been going in circles." Canderous hefted his blaster rifle and scanned the area.

"How can you tell?"

"The area's clear of kath hounds, which can only mean that we've already taken care of them all."

Aiden sighed. The kath hounds _were_ ubiquitous little buggers. However, he was determined to maintain some modicum of leadership. "I'll get us there." _Eventually._

He wasn't exactly sure why he'd brought the Mandalorian along. Well, that was not strictly true. He knew _exactly_ why he'd brought Canderous. The mercenary, left to his own devices, had taken to creatively disposing of various bands of Mandalorian raiders that had been terrorizing the local population. At first, Aiden had hoped that the warrior had had a change of heart, but as it turned out, Canderous viewed the activity as ridding the galaxy of unwanted, dishonourable Mandalorians. The locals were entirely superfluous. And while he supposed that it _did _contribute to the greater good, it would be good for Canderous to do something slightly more constructive.

Still, this did not keep the Mandalorian's comments from grating on his nerves.

The Council hadn't even been terribly specific in its directions. He'd done the runaround for them, he'd memorized the Jedi Code forwards, backwards, and upside down. He'd built his lightsaber with as close to a perfect set as could be asked for, and all they'd told him to do was "cleanse the dark taint from the grove."

The Jedi, it seemed, were not only masers of the Force. They appeared to have cornered the market on enigma and general vagueness, as well.

Rounding the bend, he spied an unfamiliar path. _Please, please let this be the right direction…_ Following the path, he found himself in a clearing with a set of ruins at the far end. In the centre of the ruins sat a lone figure. Reaching out with the Force, he felt waves of anger, hatred, and shades of self-loathing radiating from the person. _Cleanse the dark taint from the grove…_

They hadn't been kidding, had they?

"Well," Mission offered, looking about, "this looks kinda grove-like."

"Yeah, it kinda does." Aiden tightened his grip on his saber and moved forward. "Let's see what we can find, eh?"

Their advance did not go unnoticed. As the neared the ruins, the figure's eyes snapped open. Upon closer examination, he could tell it was a female of the Cathar race, and she moved with all the grace of a feline as she stood and advanced menacingly. Before anyone in the group could do or say anything, she wordlessly reached forward, and Canderous and Mission were immediately frozen in place.

Aiden looked at them, then quickly back at the Cathar, now clenching his lightsaber so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"Why do you disturb me?" Her voice was heavily accented, and her eyes narrowed threateningly.

"I, well…" Aiden fumbled, trying to pull a sensible answer out of the air. "I was sent to cleanse the dark taint from the grove?"

_Great answer, genius._ He could have smacked himself, but he didn't have time for that.

"Foolish Jedi, do you not realize? I have killed your kind before, and do not be so silly as to think I will not do it again." She ignited her blood-red blade and swung it violently towards him.

_Well, _Aiden thought, _this is going to be an adventure._


	9. Chapter 9

Aiden was barely able to block the Cathar's initial blow. Backpedaling to gain a bit more working space, he held his blue blade cautiously in front of him. The Cathar, however, was not interested in caution. She flew at him in a flurry of strokes, and it took all of Aiden's concentration to block her attacks.

Concentration, however, did not seem to keep his mind in check. _Let go,_ a voice seemed to whisper in his ear. _You're thinking too hard- you know better than this._

Did he? He wasn't sure, but he did as the voice suggested. Suddenly, the battle came into much greater clarity- he could clearly see the Cathar woman's plan of action, and he deftly spun out of the way as she hacked after him. Blow after blow he blocked, and he started to take on a more aggressive stance. Slowly, he started advancing forward. Everything Bastila had taught him about using the blade came as naturally as though he had been using it for years.

Caught up in the rhythm and humming of the sabers, however, he lost track of other elements of his environment. He was so focused on the blades and the patterns of attack that it took him completely by surprise when the Cathar violently shoved him back with a wall of Force energy, knocking him off his feet. He tried to turn his fall into a roll, and failed rather miserably at that task. His flailings did, however, catch the Cathar behind the knees, which sent her down. Before she had a chance to recover, he thrust his lightsaber centimeters away from her throat.

And there they remained, completely still, for several long moments.

Breathing heavily, the Cathar eventually let go of her saber. "You have defeated me," she said with no small amount of reluctance. "Now, please just kill me quickly."

Aiden pulled the loose saber into his hand with the Force, looked down into her piercing yellow eyes and saw that she was serious. _Best to kill her now, _the voice whispering in his ear advised. _She's too dangerous to be left alive._

He did not, however, kill her. After several moments of silence, he asked, "Who are you, and why are you out here?"

"I am Juhani," she replied. "I was a Padawan at the Enclave. But I… I was always too impatient, too angry. I struck my Master down, giving into my hate. I could not go back, not after what I did." She closed her eyes and turned her face away. "And now I see that I cannot even succeed in the darkness. I beg of you- just end me here."

_See, she killed her Master! You definitely can't let her wander free. What happens when she runs into someone who _doesn't _have a lightsaber?_ No, that wasn't right. Was it?

"Have you even tried to go back to them?"

Juhani's eyes blazed with something that bordered more on annoyance than anger. "Are you out of your mind? I have done the unforgivable. They would never take me back."

Well, given the sunny disposition he'd observed from the Council members, he couldn't exactly blame her for the attitude. "Maybe they're more forgiving than you think."

"I do not think so." She sighed. "Now either kill me or leave me to my despair, since I do not wish to waste words on the impossible."

Aiden held the blade over her throat a few seconds longer, then shut it off. Juhani looked up at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I'm not going to kill you, Juhani."

"And what am I to do now?"

"Well, you could come back to the Enclave with me."

"So they could make me their prisoner? I do not think I like that plan." She stood up and crossed her arms. "I would sooner rot out here in the plains."

"Oh, don't think like that," Aiden tried to find a way to put a good face on the situation. "I mean, you didn't kill me, did you?"

"That is because you won," she pointed out sourly.

"Would you kill me now, if you had your saber?"

"I…" she trailed off, then shook her head. "I would not. You are honourable, and that has worth."

"Then clearly, you aren't as bad as you seem to think you are. I don't know exactly what went on with your Master, but you aren't a Sith."

"Do you… do you think they will believe that?" Her eyes were still clouded with doubt, but she seemed to be coming around.

Aiden wished he could say that of course, they would, but he couldn't honestly guarantee anything. Instead, he shrugged and said, "I will return with you, and speak on your behalf, if you'd like. Because I'm not going to kill you, and I don't want to leave you sitting out here alone."

Juhani considered this silently for several moments. He could feel faint echoes of her inner conflict through the Force, but he could also tell she was trying to keep it quiet. After nearly a minute, she sighed heavily and stated, "Very well. I will accompany you back to the Enclave. Perhaps they will understand."

"Good," Aiden said with no small amount of relief. "We can head back now… but would you mind letting my friends go, first?"

Pazaak. It was not a pursuit Leiraya had ever given much time to, but she knew the game. And Mission had come and asked if she'd like to play. She hadn't spent a lot of time with the young Twi'lek, but Mission hadn't been terribly social since Taris. Not that Leiraya could blame her. She knew what it was like to lose friends, and it wasn't easy. Still, the fact that she'd come out of her cabin was a good sign.

Mission watched as the pazaak console dealt her a +2 card, then she slapped the 'end turn' node. "So, what's it like on Corellia?"

Leiraya shrugged, and observed the +6 card the console gave her. Big cards usually made her nervous, but she decided to end the turn, anyway. "Oh, depends on what part of the world you're in. I live in a relatively temperate region, though we don't get as much snow as other areas during the winter months. I live near the ocean, so it's really beautiful."

"Wow," Mission raised her eyebrows, impressed, and put ended her turn after a +5 card was added to her total. "I've never seen an ocean- Taris doesn't have any, since the city covers everything. Well, at least it did, before…" she trailed off. "You know."

"Yeah, I do." +3. _Not too bad,_ she thought, and poked at the console.

"I mean, it's not like I ever liked it there or anything," she shrugged, accepting the +4 card added to her deck. "But it was home, you know? And it's just kinda hard to believe it's all gone. All those people…"

Leiraya shook her head, sighing as she tapped the console. +5, and 6 points until she was done. "War… war is an awful thing. I've never seen one that made any sense."

"You've seen a lot of wars?" Mission looked up, her curiosity piqued. "I mean, just in your system? That's weird."

"Not so much if you consider the geography- and check your cards, Mission."

"Oh! Right." She glanced down at the +6 card and ended the turn. "Sorry."

"Just keeping you focused," Leiraya grinned, then scrunched her nose in annoyance as she noted the +4 card the computer had given her. She had a –5 card, and a /-3 card, so hopefully those would come in handy. "Anyway, the Corellian system has five main planets. We call them the Five Brothers. Corellia, Selonia, Drall, Talus, and Tralus. Talus and Tralus are the Double Worlds, and they spin around each other as well as around the sun."

"Hey, that's kinda neat." Mission ended her turn after being dealt a +1 card. "I've never heard of anything like that before."

A +1 card popped up on Leiraya's side of the console, causing her to roll her eyes at the computer. _Now_ it wanted to give her smaller cards. "That's because as far as we know, it's unique to the system. Scientists can't even figure it out. Some of them even think the system was built."

"Can you do that? You know, build a system?" Mission looked down at the console, then made a sour face when she noticed she'd been dealt a +3 card. "I'm done. No tricks up my sleeve this time."

"Good game, though." She gathered the cards and put them back into their case.

"So back to the system-building thing." Mission leaned forward, looking as though she were expecting a good story.

"Well, there's not much to tell- if it was built, it was done thousands of years ago, before even the Republic existed. Not even the Dralls, with their impeccable records have any idea if such a thing could have happened." She shrugged. "All we have are a lot of unexplained variables. Like Centerpoint Station- it lies at the gravitic balance between Talus and Tralus. Nobody knows what it's for. Nobody even really uses it. I heard talk of turning it into living space, but I doubt that will ever happen- who would want to live inside a space station when there's lots of space on the planets proper?"

"I dunno, maybe they like space stations."

"Maybe. However, I don't think it's going to get enough support to actually happen. As for me, I prefer the open sky to a ship's interior, no question."

Mission shrugged. "I spent most of my life in the Lower City, so I didn't see the Upper City all that often. You get used to it." She stood, stretching. "Oh, and thanks for talking with me. I've got Big Z all the time, but he's not much for the talking, you know? He's more of the strong, silent type."

"I noticed," Leiraya grinned. "Any time you're up for a game of cards and need to vent, I'm here. I don't know what I can exactly offer in the way of advice, but if you need a distraction, I can ramble for a very long time."

"Super," Mission returned the grin, and walked off. "See ya around."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten 

"Well done, young Star," Vandar smiled kindly. "You have brought Juhani back to us."

"Your actions are to be commended," Zhar agreed. "It is the decision of this Council that, having successfully completed your trials, you are now fully one of the Order. It is my honour to present you with these robes, Padawan Star." 

Aiden accepted the simple brown garment and bowed. "Thank you, Masters. I will do my best to be a proper Jedi for you."

"You'll do well to remember your lessons," Vrook stated with his usual air of sourness. "These are dark times, and a young Jedi such as yourself cannot be too careful."

Dorak nodded in agreement. "Remember what you have learned, and you will do fine. Think on the story of Revan and Malak, and be wary of where they went wrong. Knowing the mistakes of those who have gone before you can help save you from a dark path."

Aiden suppressed a shiver. The tale of Revan and Malak was one that the Masters had pounded into him. Their impatience, their lust for war, and their sheer pride had led them down a terrible road, and taken much of the Jedi Order with them. The fact that Malak was still at large was unsettling to them, but at least he'd taken his Master out of the picture.

He glanced briefly at Bastila. She had been there, the day they went to capture Revan. Malak had changed their plans, however, firing on Revan's ship, almost killing everyone. The Jedi had escaped. The great Lord of the Sith, however, had not. And Malak was not as temperate as his Master.

"I will honour your teachings," he said, bowing again.

"The Force will be with you, Padawan Star." Vandar nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"And with you, Masters." He turned and walked out of the chambers. Finally, he would be able to do something useful. He wasn't sure what, or when, but with the state of the galaxy as it was, he was sure it wouldn't be long.

"The Dark Side is strong in this place. I can feel its power." A young Jedi- Malak- walked reverently into a large room with stone walls. Another figure, shorter, less imposing, entered with him. The figure was masked. He had appeared in Aiden's dreams before- it was Revan. Revan remained silent, but went to work at unsealing a set of heavy stone doors.

_Malak continued speaking. "Is this wise? The ancient Jedi sealed this archway. Once we pass through this door we can never go back. The Order will surely banish us."_

_Unaffected, Revan continued his work, and successfully made the doors lurch open with a grinding moan. He walked forward, into the dark. A strange device sat in the middle of the room. Aiden did not know what it was, but the mere sight of it made his stomach sink. All the while, Malak continued his monologue. "Are the secrets of the Star Forge so valuable? Can its power truly be worth the risk?"_

Revan did not respond. He simply pushed something on the strange artifact and stepped back as it opened…

"Aiden, wake up! The Jedi Council wants to talk to you."

"I- what?" Aiden abruptly sat up and looked around, blinking in an attempt to bring the world into focus. His efforts utterly failed, and he collapsed back down on his pillow. "Can't it wait 'til later?"

"You've already slept late. Now come on, get up." Voice. Whose voice? Sounded like Leiraya's. Opening his eyes slowly, he managed to focus them enough to confirm his hypothesis.

Groaning, he sat up and threw his legs over the edge of the bunk. "How late?"

"A couple more hours and we'll be eating lunch." She peered at him more closely, then asked, "Are you all right? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something."

Aiden grimaced. "It was a bit of a rough night."

"Well, grab some caf before you see the Council, but I wouldn't keep them waiting too long." She rolled her eyes and grinned. "You know how they are about timeliness."

Actually, he didn't, but the Masters _were_ tough taskmasters. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"All right. I'll see you later." Leiraya waved farewell and walked out the door. Where was everyone else? Probably out by this time. Sleeping in was not characteristic of him. Probably a result of the dream. Or vision. Or whatever it was. It was disturbingly like the visions he'd had of Bastila, from the mission to capture Revan that went terribly wrong. If this had actually happened, too…

He shook his head and threw on his robes. He didn't really possess the desire to think about it too hard. He pulled on his boots, grabbed his lightsaber and a cup of caf, then ran down the _Hawk's_ landing ramp and towards the Council chambers.

Carth was waiting outside, and had to step aside to keep Aiden from completely bowling him over. "Whoa, slow down there, soldier. Let's try not to kill anyone en route, okay?"

"Sorry," Aiden straightened himself and took a sip of his caf. "Running a bit late, I'm afraid."

"So I can see," Carth observed. "Are you coming down with something? You look strange…"

Aiden made a sour face. "Is it really that bad? You're the second person to tell me I look like bantha tripe this morning."

"Well, you _do_ look a little worse for wear." Carth shrugged. "Come to think of it, so did Bastila when she walked by."

If Bastila was looking as bad as he did, that was probably a good sign. Or a bad sign, depending on what way he wanted to look at it. "I'll just have to hope the caf wakes me up enough in the next three minutes, I guess."

"Good luck, then." Carth clapped him on the shoulder and walked up the landing ramp. Aiden shook his head, took a big gulp of his beverage, and strode quickly towards the Council chambers.

As he entered, he noticed that Bastila was already there, and looking a little haggard.

"Padawan Star," Vandar greeted him. "Do you know why you have been called here?"

"Well," he started, still trying to collect all of his thoughts into a coherent order, "I'm not _precisely _sure."

"It is because of the vision you shared with Bastila," Vrook stated.

Aiden started to reply, then stopped as he processed what Vrook had just said. "Wait a minute, how did you know we both had the vision?"

"It is the nature of our bond," Bastila explained. "Just as your earlier visions were shared with me, we assumed that this one would be the same. From your reaction, I see we were correct."

"I, well… yes." Aiden shifted uncomfortably. How many of his thoughts did she have access to, anyway? Shoving that thought aside, he decided to pursue a different line of conversation. "So what was so special about this vision?"

"The ruins Bastila described are identical to ones we found one week previously." Vandar sighed sadly. "We sent a Jedi to investigate, but he has not returned."

"The Force wanted us to see this for a reason," Bastila continued. "We must go to the ruins and discover what Revan and Malak were doing there."

"And that is to be your next task," Vandar nodded. "Go to the ruins, see what you can discover."

"Yes, Masters," Aiden bowed, but forgot he was holding his cup and it spilled slightly on the floor. _Dammit, that was slightly ungraceful._

The Masters, thankfully, seemed more amused than anything. "Perhaps you might consider drinking your caf _before_ you meet with people," Vrook suggested with what Aiden could have sworn was a hint of a smile.

"I… yes. I suppose I'll be going, then."

"Exercise caution, Padawan Star. Take Bastila with you, and do not be afraid to take others." Vandar looked at him intently. "We do not wish to lose you on your first mission."

"You won't, Master Vandar. I'll be careful."

"Very well, then. May the Force be with you."

"So where exactly are we going again?"

"Ruins, I think." Leiraya stretched and checked to make sure the lightsaber she'd built was still hanging from her belt. Hers had been lost when she fled Taris, and even though she didn't approve of using it against lifeforms, it made her feel better to have it again. "Something about an artifact or somesuch."

"They should be nearby," Bastila added. "Now, we've gone over our strategy, correct? If something attacks, I'll go in first-"

"And you'd better believe I'm not going to be far behind you," Aiden interjected. "This is my assignment, remember?"

"I know," she replied evenly. "But you have this habit of letting certain elements of combat get the best of you, and you'll do better if there's two of us there."

"We'll go in together."

"Fine," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Now that we've sorted that out, Carth- you're on ranged weaponry, so you should stay back and shoot from where they can't get you."

"You got it," Carth patted his blaster.

"And that leaves Leiraya, who is…"

"Surveillance," Leiraya supplied. "I've got your backs covered."

"I see," Bastila sighed inwardly. It had _not_ been her idea to bring the Corellian along, however, Aiden was right when he said that they needed as many Jedi along as possible. She at least managed to talk him into bringing Carth along. He would at least make himself _useful._

The ruins were not far from the Enclave. Three rows of columns defined a path that lead to a heavy stone door set low in the ground. Both Bastila and Aiden could feel the shock of recognition hitting the other- it was exactly as they had seen it in the vision. Slowly, they walked up to the door. Aiden pressed on the centre square, and the door opened with a grinding lurch.

And so the small band stood for several moments, staring into the dark hole they were to enter.

"So the Jedi already sent someone?" Aiden asked Bastila over his shoulder, eyes never leaving the entryway.

"That would be correct," she replied, also staring at the doorway.

"And he didn't come back."

"No."

"We're going in there?"

"That is the general idea, yes."

"Whose brilliant idea was this, anyway?"

"Are you going to go in or not?"

Aiden straightened and ignited his saber. "Yes, I'm going in."

He started moving forward, saber held in front of him. The room was made entirely of stone, and pillars were covered in strange markings. Half-crumbled statutes stood in corners, and he could barely see tiny insects skittering away from the light. The room, in normal light, would be strange enough. In a semi-lit blue glow, it was downright spooky. There was another door on the far end, and he walked towards it.

"What is this place?" Leiraya gingerly stepped forward, the stone floor feeling almost uncomfortably cold on her bare feet.

"That's what we're here to find out." Aiden opened the second door, revealing a very large, multi-armed 'droid that started speaking in some sort of alien language.

"What's it saying?" Carth asked, looking at the 'droid curiously.

"I don't know… it's not a language I've ever heard." Aiden took a step closer, and it started talking in what sounded like a different language.

"I thought you knew some ridiculous number of languages."

"I do," he replied, scratching his head helplessly. "Just not these ones."

The 'droid abruptly switched languages again, and Aiden blinked twice before he realised he could understand what it was saying.

"Hey, I caught that." He looked back at everyone else. "It says hello."

"Sounds like some form of ancient Selkath," Bastila mused.

"Well," Carth prompted, "what else is it saying?"

"Something about the Builders, and their Infinite Empire. And a Star Forge."

Bastila's eyes snapped towards him. "Star Forge- like in the vision?"

"I guess so. It says it is the Guardian of the Star Map, and if I wish to retrieve it, it can't stop me."

"Well, that's good, right?"

Aiden paused and listened a little longer. "Not exactly. It says the power of this place is enough to destroy me. It's already destroyed one person who came earlier."

"Oh."

"If we wish to reach the Star Map, first we must prove ourselves worthy." He paused. "There are proving grounds to the east and to the west, and only after we have shown that we are worthy may we continue to the Star Map."

"Proving grounds?" Carth unconsciously gripped his blaster. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't exactly know," Aiden replied tersely, looking around him. There were four doors- the door they'd just come through, a door on either side, and a door that he could only presume led to the elusive Star Map. In the corner to the west lay a body in a Jedi robe. Aiden recognized him as an elderly Jedi he had talked with once- a quirky old man by the name of Nemo. _That's_ who the Council had sent to investigate?

"Is everyone ready to defend themselves?" He looked around, and even Leiraya had her weapon at ready.

"Nonorganics," she explained, seeing his confused look. "If you're being shot at by a 'droid- and I know it has to be since the only sentient lifeforms I can sense in here are you guys- you'd better believe I'm going to help you cut it to shreds."

"Well, then." He wasn't sure he understood the logic, but he wasn't going to complain. "Let's find out what's on the other side of those doors


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 

The Guardian hadn't been kidding, much to the annoyance of Aiden and company.

The proving grounds were simple, but nasty. One battle 'droid on each side- one of fire, and one of ice. Each one guarded a computer, and each one took all four of them to defeat. _No wonder Nemo didn't make it out alive._ Aiden knew for certain that he could not have defeated the 'droids alone, nor could anyone else. Bastila was a cunning warrior, but she tended to rely on her skill in battle meditation at times. Unfortunately, battle meditation can have no effect on those without a will, so she had to rely on her swordplay. Leiraya was fast, faster than he would have thought. And graceful, to boot. But she lacked brute force, and one could not simply finesse past one of these 'droids. Carth was invaluable on ranged weapons, but blasters alone would not be enough. And Aiden himself lacked enough experience to be able to single-handedly take down even one of the 'droids, let alone two.

It was definitely a good thing that they'd brought extra people.

The computers, once they figured out how to communicate with them, asked a relatively simple question before it would let them by. Aiden supposed it was simple because after the hell they put you through with the 'droid, your brain might not be thinking in a straight line yet. He knew for certain that he was slightly dazed after fighting two of them, even with the help of the others.

Having finished either side, the four of them stood in front of the remaining door. "So," Bastila said, still breathing heavily, "this is it?"

Aiden nodded. "That's what it looks like."

He reached forward, pushing the centre square in. The door lurched open, revealing another large room. A singular object sat in the middle, identical to the one in his vision.

"What is it?" Leiraya squinted at it curiously.

"I don't know," Aiden replied, pressing the button he had seen Revan press in his vision. He stepped back as three trapezoidal fins opened, allowing a strange projection to float in midair. It was strangely beautiful, a swirl of blue, yellow, and white lights, but he had no idea what it was.

"These look like hyperspace coordinates," Bastila observed. "See, here's Kashyyyk… and Tatooine… Manaan… and Korriban."

"Is that all the coordinates?"

"Well… yes and no." Bastila looked at it more closely. "Those are all the readable ones. There's at least one more that's partially corrupted."

"Corrupted?" Aiden looked around the room. "How old do you suppose this place is, anyway?"

"Older than the Jedi Order. Perhaps older than the Republic." Bastila shook her head, as though to clear it. "We should leave this place, though. This… thing, this Star Map is an artifact of the Dark Side. It is no wonder that the kath hounds are so aggressive in this area."

Aiden was not about to argue the point, he could feel it too. It seeped under his skin like snow blown beneath the layers of a warm jacket.

"I agree," Leiraya nodded, looking nervously at the map as though it might suddenly explode. She received a couple of strange looks, as it was likely the first time that she and Bastila had agreed on _anything,_ but it was not the time for idle chat.

"Let's go, then." Aiden turned and strode out of the room, past the Guardian, and out of the ruins.

The Council needed to know what the place was, and what happened to Nemo after they sent him.

Carth paced back and forth in the main hold of the _Ebon Hawk._ "How long are they going to be talking to the Council, anyway?"

"You've got me," Mission replied, lounging comfortably on one of the seats. "What're you so worried about?"

"It's nothing." Carth shook his head. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Mission narrowed her eyes. "Is this one of those, 'I'm not going to tell you anything 'cause you're too young' things? Because that's really annoying. I'm along for this, too, and I'm not a kid."

"No, Mission, it's not that. I know you're very capable for a 14 year old. It's just that… I don't know. A lot of stuff just doesn't make any sense." He shook his head. "And I don't like it when things don't add up."

The young Twi'lek shrugged. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out when they get back, right?"

"I sure hope so." He paced for a while longer until he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Moments later, Aiden, Bastila, and Leiraya came up the ramp. He immediately asked, "So, what's going on?"

"We're going." Aiden pointed at the datapad that held what information was not corrupted from the Star Map. "The four planets whose coordinates we found. The Council thinks that this is the map that Revan and Malak used to find whatever this Star Forge thing is, so if we're going to find it, we're going to have to trace their footsteps."

_Trace the footsteps of Revan and Malak?_ "Have they lost their minds, by any chance?" Carth crossed his arms. "I mean, no offense, but you guys are just padawans. This seems like kind of a big mission, and they're not sending along anyone else to guide you?"

"Apparently not. They seem to think that with the help of everyone else on board, we'll be able to make it just fine." Aiden shrugged. "There's a lot of us, and a lot of capability on board."

"Still. This doesn't make any sense. You've just completed your training, and this is a huge mission. Force and visions or no, there should be someone else along." Bastila seemed ready to protest his claims, but he cut her off before she could say anything. "I know you're capable of a lot, Bastila, but you're not a Master. You're not even a Knight. Something doesn't add up here."

Aiden shifted somewhat uncomfortably. He only knew what the Council had told him, and that it was only the bond between him and Bastila that made the mission even possible. Still, Carth had a very, very valid point. However, there was nothing he could offer to placate the soldier, so he could only reply, "I suppose we must trust in the wisdom of the Council."

"Now you're sounding like Bastila."

"I resent that, Carth Onasi," she looked at him with a mildly annoyed expression. "Besides, he's right. We cannot claim to know their motivations, but they have shown wisdom in the past, so we ought to trust them."

"Right." He still wasn't happy, but arguing wasn't going to get anything done. "So, are we leaving, then?"

"Not quite." Aiden looked over his shoulder as Juhani ascended the landing ramp.

The Cathar woman bowed politely to the company and tried to smile. "I will be accompanying you on your journey."

"Wait, whoa- who is this?" Carth looked between Aiden and Juhani with a look of confusion on his face.

"This is Juhani," Aiden explained. "The Jedi we found in the grove."

"You mean the one that attacked you?" Carth's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I was not myself, then," Juhani said defensively. "I thought… I thought I had killed my Master, but I had not. She let me strike her down to show me how I let my anger control me. She was right, and I almost killed her." Her fiery, catlike eyes looked intently at him, showing a deep sense of regret. "I have learned my lesson- and that was my trial. This, then, is my first mission."

"So let me get this straight- first they goad you into giving in to the Dark Side, and then they happily welcome you back?" Carth shook his head. "Forgive me if I question their methods."

"The methods of the Jedi Council are not your concern," Bastila interjected frostily. "If they trust Juhani enough to come with us, so should you."

Carth and Bastila glared at each other for several moments until he finally sighed in disgust. "Fine. But let's get going before we have to take any more of the Council's 'wisdom' with us."

"Very well, then." Bastila brushed past him and headed for the cockpit. Aiden was right behind her, and Carth sighed and followed suit.

Juhani remained standing where she was, looking more than a little lost. Looking up, she saw Leiraya and Mission standing there. "I do not think he likes me," she stated sourly.

"Don't worry about it," Leiraya came over and brought her further into the ship. "He's nicer than he lets on sometimes. He'll either warm up to you, or at least stop bothering you eventually."

"What, is he always like this to newcomers?"

"I sure hope not, but his track record's not so hot." Leiraya guided her into the women's bunks. "You'll be staying over here with us, so grab an empty bunk."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I think I will take a nap, if that is all right."

"No problem," Leiraya pulled an extra blanket out of the footlocker and handed it to Juhani. "Here, you'll want this. It gets kinda cold once we leave the atmosphere."

"Again, I thank you."

"Have a good rest- I'll talk to you later." Leiraya grinned easily and left the room.

Finally alone, Juhani collapsed on her bunk and burst into tears.

"Is there any particular method behind choosing to go to Kashyyyk first?" Leiraya peered curiously at the galaxy map in the cockpit a few hours after entering hyperspace. "I mean, not that I have any problem with it, but if there's a process, I'd sure like to know."

Aiden shrugged. "Well, not especially."

"There's a comforting thought. I don't suppose you considered where this beast will have to refuel, did you?"

"We can make it there," he assured her. "And we can refuel once we land."

She sighed patiently and turned to leave the cockpit. "If you insist."

"Where are you off to?"

"To see if there are any extra blankets or anything in the cargo hold. We've got just enough to go around at present, and it might be beneficial to have extras." She shrugged. "Just a thought."

Turning back to his console, Aiden assented. "Sounds like a good plan."

"So glad you approve." With that, she trotted down the hall towards the cargo hold.

Aiden's mind proceeded to drift towards thought of the mission- he'd never been to Kashyyyk, and he was pretty certain that nobody on the ship, excepting Zaalbar, was familiar with the planet. Carth may have been there at one point, but as he opened his mouth to ask the pilot if he knew anything, he heard a muffled cry coming from the cargo hold.

Immediately, both Aiden and Carth bolted out of the cockpit to see what was going on. They arrived in the cargo hold, only to find Leiraya on the floor, holding her right knee. A few toppled containers were scattered around her, and she looked like she was holding back tears.

"What happened?" Carth asked, bending down to take a closer look at the injury.

"I fell." She bit her lower lip, then took a deep breath. "Tried standing on the boxes, lost my balance, twisted my knee." She pointed ruefully at her knee, which was now swelling to near-epic proportions. "You should have seen how bad it was _last_ time I twisted it."

"You mean… this has happened before?"

"Well…" she shifted uncomfortably. "It's not exactly the most _stable_ joint in the world."

Carth looked like he was going to question her further, but Aiden interrupted. "This isn't the time for an inquisition- let's get her to a bunk."

"Right." Carth shook his head and moved to help her stand. She got up, balanced on one leg, and held her breath as Carth gently picked her up. It took all her energy to pretend she wasn't in a ridiculous amount of pain, but she tried to smile anyway.

Exiting the cargo hold, Mission and Bastila ran up. "What's going on?" Bastila queried somewhat anxiously.

"I've got a slight knee problem," Leiraya explained, attempting a light voice and failing miserably.

Bastila raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know how not slight it is?"

Leiraya grimaced. "Probably not."

"Right." Bastila nodded. "Well… do you need anything for it?"

"Something cold. Preferably something I can wrap around it."

"I'll see what I can do." She scurried off to see what the ship's medkits had stocked.

Carth continued to carry her to her bunk, and set her down on her bed. She immediately put a pillow under her knee and leaned back. "Ugh. I _hate _it when this happens." Her tone was sarcastic, but tears were beginning to run from the corners of her eyes. Bastila strode in and handed Leiraya an ice pack, which she accepted and placed gingerly on her knee. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Bastila looked around, unsure of what to do. She did not particularly get along with the Corellian woman, but neither was she in the habit of ignoring injured people. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Not that comes to mind," Leiraya replied. "But thanks."

Bastila nodded. "I'll be around if you need me."

The room was silent for several moments. Juhani was still sleeping in her bunk, and Carth looked sourly at the floor. Leiraya leaned back against the wall, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You look like you want to say something."

"You look like you're awfully familiar with this injury." He looked up, not quite angrily. "Were you planning on telling any of us about it?"

"I… it's not usually a problem," she replied flatly.

"Well, it's sure as hell a problem now!"

Leiraya's face turned from pain, to shock, to dark annoyance. "Listen, flyboy- if you're going to be antagonistic about it, I don't have the energy to deal with you. Either come back in a more reasonable mood, or wait 'til I don't feel like my knee's about to explode."

"Maybe I will," he crossed his arms. "I'll be in the cockpit."

"Yeah, I bet you will." She closed her eyes and let out a ragged sigh. Carth winced, almost wishing he hadn't said anything, but there was nothing to be done about it. Without a further word, he walked out and strode directly towards the cockpit.

Mission tried to stop him as he passed. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I wouldn't know," he replied testily, and disappeared down the hallway.

"Sheesh," Mission raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "Something's eating _him,_ eh, Big Z?"

Zaalbar, cleaning his crossbow, could only let out a roar of agreement. "He is a very contrary sort of human."

"You got that right," Mission nodded. "Contrary is definitely one word for it."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

A full day went by. Mission managed to find a pair of crutches in the medical bay, and Bastila kept on top of the ice supply. Leiraya tried to remain cheerful for their sake, but she wasn't happy about her knee. It was _bad._ Worse than it had been in years. _Teach me to not stand in precarious positions,_ she thought self-deprecatingly. _Look where it got me this time._ She'd been so careful, taught herself how to fight without straining the joint, and now that there was no turning back... she'd blown it. Quite literally.

Caught up in her own distress, she almost didn't notice Carth enter the room. Straightening, she looked at him dourly. "So, come to yell at me some more?"

"No, but an explanation would be nice." He scuffed his boots on the floor and looked straight at her. "I mean, I don't know what they taught you back on Corellia, but that sort of thing is important for your fellow soldiers- mission companions- whatever- to know."

Leiraya closed her eyes and leaned back, a bitter smile on her face. "I never meant for it to be a problem."

"Well, it is." He crossed his arms. "So are you going to explain, or am I going to have to sit here until you do?" He plopped down on a bench opposite her bunk. "T3's got the ship, and I'm in no hurry."

"You're a veritable ray of happiness today," she sighed inwardly, then conceded. "Fine. You want a story? I'll give you a story. No drama, though. I can't do much to make the story more exciting.

"When I was about fifteen standard years old, I was pretty heavily involved in music. Played with a local orchestra, all that stuff. Well, a friend was driving me to a gig the next city over one day, and her speeder was broadsided. Fortunately, neither of us were killed. Unfortunately," she patted her knee gently, "the knee, she's not so happy anymore."

"That bad, just from a speeder accident?"

"The other driver was breaking about ten laws at the time it happened. The joint was completely shattered, and it's a miracle they were able to put it back together at all." She shook her head. "That's why I prefer a living mount, when I can get one. A live beast at least cares if you run into anything else."

"Well," Carth paused for a moment. "That was... a fairly simple explanation. But it doesn't explain why you didn't tell any of us."

She sighed. "It's been good for several months now. I was hoping that perhaps it was completely healed. Besides, have you ever had a permanent injury?"

"No."

"Then you probably wouldn't understand. People... they look at you differently when they think you're less than a whole person, for whatever reason. Maybe you're mentally impaired, maybe you lost an arm. Or maybe, one of your joints just doesn't function properly anymore. It doesn't matter. They see it all the same way. All of a sudden, you're not good enough to do things, your opinion isn't as valid, and you become less than a person." She looked at him piercingly. "Do you have any idea what that's like? It's not pretty. In fact, I rather despise it."

"I..." he fumbled for words. No, he _didn't_ know what it was like. He'd always been in prime physical shape, and were he honest, he'd admit to occasionally mentally writing off people less capable than he.

"That's what I thought," she huffed. "Well, maybe I should've said something. And maybe if I had, I'd be stuck back on Dantooine with those charming Masters." Her eyes and voice softened. "I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Well... now what are we supposed to do about it?"

"Give me a week," she stated confidently. "That's all it ought to take, on the generous end. I know how to take care of this, and I know when not to push it."

Carth raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Do you really?"

"Mostly." She blushed slightly. "Believe me, after this incident, I'll be ten times as careful with it. This isn't something I like to mess with. You'll have to trust me to know what I'm doing here, and that I'll let you guys know when I need help."

"That's a tall order, after all that's happened."

"Listen," she said sharply. "I know you don't trust easily, but please try. I made a mistake. I screwed up. I'm sorry."

Silence hung between them for several moments. She wondered if he would simply get up and leave, but he looked up and spoke instead. "It isn't easy, is it?"

"What?"

"Losing a part of yourself, a component of your functionality... a bit of your life."

Leiraya looked at him strangely, wondering exactly what he was getting at. "Beg pardon?"

"I mean," he said, sounding as though he were trying to rearrange his thoughts into a coherent order, "that you used to be pretty autonomous, and could run around and do all kinds of crazy things before the accident... but it was taken away from you."

"Yes," she replied slowly, still confused.

"I..." he trailed off, then shook his head, as though to shake off bad memories. "I could never think less of you for that."

With that, he stood, waved a goodbye, and left the room, leaving a very confused Leiraya sitting on her bunk.

"What I wouldn't give for a one day pass into his head..." she shook her head ruefully.

Aiden was perusing records concerning Kashyyyk on the Ebon Hawk's computer when Leiraya came in, perched on crutches and looking somewhere between sheepish and ashamed.

"What's up?" He closed his session and turned to face her, leaning back on the console.

"I... I came to apologize," she managed. "You're in charge of this mission, and I should've said something about this." She shook her head. "I knew better, too. All those years as the head of the Corellian Water Safety Patrol..."

Aiden's eyes lit up. "You're water safety, too? I grew up on Deralia, trained as a Watchman. Didn't stay with the force as long as I'd have liked, though."

"A Watchman?" Leiraya was clearly impressed. "I helped train a Deralian intern or two, you guys really know your stuff."

He shrugged modestly. "Just a matter of training, and I had some of the best."

"Huh. Deralian." She grinned bemusedly. "Never would've guessed, but I guess it works. Both Jedi and Watchmen are capable, and since you made it as one, I hope you'll do as well in the next."

"As do I," he nodded, somewhat nervously. "I never know what to expect."

"So, what's it like? Training as a Watchman, that is. I always wondered, but the coast of the Gloasil was all I ever trained for."

Aiden crossed his arms and grinned, memories clearly flashing through his head. "It's like hell, but well worth it. The worst part was training to deal with the myriad sea creatures that fill Deralia's oceans. You wouldn't believe the kinds of things that float about. Sea dragons, kelp snatchers, fillinews... the list is long, and they all have their subset of hazards. Though," he paused reflectively, "the domesticated sea dragons were a good ride between islands."

"Mmm, we need a few more of those on Corellia, though we don't have much need of island-to-island travel. But I'd much prefer it to the hoveroats."

"I imagine you'd love it there," he grinned, thinking of the spirited woman's love of nature. "We're too backwater to have an abundance of technology."

"Sounds like my kind of world."

"My first-year training program was on a quite different world," he continued. "Moderately forested. Indoor water facilities, for the larger part. Not a sea beast in sight, but it did help us get a good command of the basics."

"Yes, I remember taking our interns to the indoor pools during the colder months." She chuckled. "They hardly knew what to do with an enclosed space."

"The facility where I did my training was, fortunately, large and less enclosed than most. Huge competitive programs, lots of community participation, and best of all, a retractable transparisteel roof."

Leiraya's mouth dropped open. "How'd you score that? I know water safety personnel on Corellia who have been begging for such a roof for years!"

"It was there when I got there," he shrugged, a huge grin on his face. "But I'm not complaining."

"And well you shouldn't," she smiled, and opened her mouth to continue, but a proximity alarm sounded in the cockpit.

"Sounds like we're almost there," Aiden pushed himself fully up and away from the computer. "I'd best get up to the cockpit."

Leiraya slowly shifted out of his way, and watched as he scrambled towards the cockpit. _A Watchman,_ _huh?_ She'd known of his kind almost as long as she'd been working the waterfront. The elite of the elite, so it was said amongst professionals. Always ready to respond in any type of emergency, and second only to the Jedi in their training and discipline.

Glancing down at her knee, a shadow of doubt crept across her features. _Then why on all of Corellia didn't he do anything about this particular injury?_ She shook her head. In spite of her misgivings, she was probably being unfair. He'd been out of the force for quite some time, and it was possible that first aid wasn't his area of specialization to start with. Knees were obscure, anyway... at least, injuries of this magnitude were.

Not that she had any further time to contemplate it for the moment. They were landing on Kashyyyk, and she had a sinking feeling that things were going to start getting even more interesting.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Zaalbar stood outside the _Ebon Hawk_ looking more unsettled than he had during Aiden's acquaintance with him. The Wookiee scanned the area suspiciously, looking as though he didn't quite know what to make of the place anymore.

"Something wrong, Zaalbar?"

The Wookiee roared softly and shook his head. "It has just been some time since I have been here."

"Well, I'm going to need you, pal. I know my way around here like I know my way around... well... somewhere that I'd get really lost in." Aiden made a face. "You know what I mean."

Zaalbar looked amused, or at least, Aiden _thought_ he looked amused. Before he could ask, however, sounds of bickering came down the loading ramp.

"You're in no condition to be wandering around Kashyyyk," Carth's voice came first.

"I concur," Bastila's voice joined in. "You should be taking care of your knee, not pushing yourself harder. We can try to find a cane to bring back to you."

"I don't need you two babying me." Leiraya came swinging down the ramp on her crutches. "I'm not staying on that ship forever, and the exercise is good for me."

"We're not _babying_ anyone." Bastila placed her hands on her hips in exasperation. "Aiden, try to make her see reason."

"Oh, no you don't." She adjusted her crutches. "No fair playing the 'she's being unreasonable' card. Next thing you're going to tell me is that I'm overreacting."

Carth crossed his arms. "Don't tempt me."

"Hey now, let's not get snippy," Aiden interjected. "What's the problem here?"

"_They,_" Leiraya emphatically stated, "are trying to keep me cooped up on that ship whilst they get to wander the famed forests of Kashyyyk. I like trees. I'd like to see these trees and get to know them. I also need a cane, which is a tangential benefit of being able to leave."

"However," Bastila interrupted, "She's not exactly in any sort of condition to go for extended walks."

"Do I look like I'm putting much weight on this thing?" Leiraya scowled. "Didn't I tell you guys I know when not to push it?"

"All right, all right." Aiden sighed. "Leiraya, you can come along."

She grinned. "Excellent, I-"

"I'm not finished," Aiden continued. "Carth is coming, too. Someone's got to have your back covered if something nasty happens."

She grimaced slightly, but nodded. "All right, I guess that's reasonable."

"Bastila, I want you to stay here and make sure nobody harms the ship. Also," he added, almost as an afterthought, "see if you can keep Canderous out of trouble."

Bastila looked somewhat less than happy with his decision, but she nodded in assent. "Easier said than done."

"I have complete confidence in you," Aiden winked at her roguishly.

Ignoring the wink, she merely raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. "Whatever you say." With that, she turned and walked back up the ramp, trying not to look like she was disappointed to be left on the ship with nothing to do besides babysit a Mandalorian warrior. Sighing, she rounded the corner and nearly ran into Juhani, who was rushing down the corridor at record speed.

"Bastila," she gasped in surprise, then quickly regained her composure. "We are not alone."

"I beg your pardon?" She looked skeptically at the Cathar. "Of course we're not, I know there are others around..."

"No," Juhani shook her head. "I mean to say, we have a stowaway."

Meandering down the way, Aiden couldn't help but notice that there were almost as many humans as there were Wookiees on the walkway. This did _not_ fit his profile of the planet. Kashyyyk was almost completely arboreal, and extremely dangerous for humanoids.

"Does this seem strange to you?" He looked questioningly at Carth.

"More along the lines of 'disturbing,' I'd say." He gestured at an oncoming Twi'lek furiously tapping on a datapad. "See that insignia? He's with Czerka Corporation."

"Czerka?" The name didn't sound familiar, but he noticed Leiraya making a face. "What?"

"I recognize that name. They were the ones that conned the Selonians into purchasing starships on a large scale- bad move. They nearly wiped out the Dralls over a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

"Is there an echo in here? Yes, a misunderstanding." She adjusted her crutches and continued. "Data corruption, specifically. I heard the full explanation once, but it had something to do with changing file formats and memory overwriting itself. Most importantly, in this case, the passwords to the entire Selonian computer system. Nobody could access it, and they got angry and thought the Dralls did it on purpose."

Aiden shrugged. "Maybe they did."

"Have you ever seen a Drall?" He shook his head. "I thought not. They're short little furry things, very dignified and mostly scholarly. There are exceptions, but they're about as far from warlike as they come."

"So they were completely ploughed over?"

"Not quite. The Corellian government caught wind of what was happening and dispatched the Jedi to help settle things down. It cost us-" her voice caught for a moment, but she recovered almost before anyone could notice. "It cost us a lot. Once the Selonians figured out what the problem actually was, they were fairly well ashamed of themselves. Destroyed all the ships and swore they'd never buy any again. It was a major move for them to do so in the first place, and I guess they concluded that the traditional ways were better for them."

Aiden paused to absorb this. If this corporation had been so quick to sell warships to the Selonians, he couldn't imagine what they had plans for the Wookiees. He didn't see that many ships around, though, so that couldn't be their only area of trade. "Do you think they'll be a problem here?"

"Aiden, Czerka is a problem by _definition._"

"That's encouraging."

The group continued walking, passing several more Czerka uniforms and very few Wookiees. After several meters, Zaalbar wuffled softly, "I should not have come back. This all must be my brother's doing."

Aiden stopped. "Your brother?"

Zaalbar spread his paws. "He is a bad person, there is nothing else for it. He started talking about bringing these people in... and I attacked him with my bare claws."

"That could be potentially awkward," Carth agreed.

"No, you do not understand." He paused to think of a better way to explain it. "To attack with one's bare claws is the height of dishonour. I was... cast out. I am a madclaw."

Aiden inwardly grimaced. Zaalbar had been their one hope of finding an ancient Star Map on this world, and finding that he was somewhat less than welcome was more than 'potentially awkward,' it could be downright disastrous. However, they didn't have time to worry about it. "We'll find a way, Zaalbar."

The Wookiee looked at him dubiously, but followed when Aiden moved on. It was apparently going to be a good idea to gather information before they ventured too much further, so the group found its way to the nearest shop. It was a strange durasteel construction, standing out sorely amongst the trees, and was almost certainly run by Czerka, but hopefully they'd have some answers, and maybe even a cane for Leiraya.

Aiden walked up to a somewhat slimy-looking sales representative who regarded him with a simpering smile. "How may I help you?"

"Information would be helpful, for starters."

"Well, you've come to the right place. Welcome to the Edean Visitors and Information Centre. I am Nolan Farsik, Czerka representative. What would you like to know about? Local hunting, trading goods, Wookiee dealing..."

"Pardon me?" Aiden interrupted. "You deal _Wookiees?_"

"Yes, and they are excellent workers, which you should already know." Farsik gave a knowing glance at Zaalbar, who bared his teeth and roared.

"Mind your words, outlander." His dark brown eyes glistened with rage.

Farsik, however, merely looked bored. "I'm sorry, I can't understand a word of the local language. Beasts, the lot of them."

"I don't think you understand," Aiden tried to explain. "Zaalbar is not my _slave_. He owes me a life debt."

"Clever," Farsik winked. "Always better to make them think they owe it to you, eh?"

Aiden cringed as Zaalbar roared even more loudly. "Do not _dare_ insult the life debt!"

"Please, calm him down," Farsik looked at Aiden sternly. "He'll disturb my workers."

He turned and looked pleadingly at the Wookiee. "Calm down, Z." He shot a sidelong glance at Farsik. "We can't do anything by yelling at them."

Zaalbar quieted down, but his eyes still glared at the Czerka representative. Similarly, Leiraya looked positively livid, and Aiden could tell it was all she could do to keep the insults from flying out and splattering all over the room. _Not now, _ he pleaded silently. _We can't make them angry this early in the trip._

Turning back to Farsik, he calmed himself. "Knowledge of the local geography would be invaluable."

"Well, I can give you a complimentary map," he pulled out a cheap datapad with the Czerka logo emblazoned in tacky colours on the back. "It lists all our locations and prime trapping spots. Also, if you're in need of work, our hiring offices are here," he pointed at a red blip on the map.

"Thank you," Aiden nodded.

"Now, will there be anything else you need?"

"Well... we _were _rather trying to find a place that would sell a cane-"

"No, we weren't." Leiraya was still glaring at Farsik. "And even if this _gentleman_ said they carried them, I wouldn't buy it if they _paid_ me."

"Leiraya, are you sure this is-"

"I'm not going to hobble around on a cane that supports slavery!"

"Slavery?" Farsik snorted. "Inflammatory language. It can hardly be slavery when they're little more than brutes."

"Brutes?" She replied incredulously. "Let me tell _you_, mister-"

"I think we've taken up enough of your time," Aiden interjected hastily and grabbed Leiraya's elbow. She glared at him for a few seconds, but turned herself around and swung out. As soon as they were outside, she took one of her crutches and slammed it firmly into Aiden's foot. He cried out, more out of surprise than pain. "What was that for?"

"That was for keeping me from speaking my piece," she practically yelled. "Silence is implicit support, and I won't be party to it!"

"Well, I can't have you yelling at every merchant and representative on Kashyyyk!"

"Did you hear him? He didn't even call it Kashyyyk. They've claimed the planet as their own, and they've no right."

"He-" he broke off. Farsik _had_ called the planet by a different name. "That's not the point."

"Can't you see? Czerka is just plain _rotten._ They enslave species, they only care for profit, and they don't care how many people die in the process. Selling ships equipped for war was bad enough. _Slavery_ is just another to add to their list of crimes."

"Leiraya," Carth decided to try to reason with her, "How much damage could have been done in that war?"

Her venomous gaze landed on him. "You of all people should know better than to ask that question."

"As I recall, the Mandalorian Wars never made it to Corellia." He crossed his arms. "How bad could a local skirmish be?"

"Those were my _friends_ who were sent to fight," she looked at him, angry tears beginning to form. "We were just old enough to volunteer, and how many decided to play hero? Too many. Too many that never came _back. _Your war may have been bigger, but it doesn't matter. People still die."

"Can I interrupt to suggest we don't hold this conversation in the middle of a busy walkway?" Aiden glanced between Carth and Leiraya, the former's eyes seemingly made of stone, the later's eyes burning with anger and loss. Both of them, however, nodded and decided to defer the argument until later. He pushed ahead, trying not to notice the twinge in his foot as he walked. Their best bet would probably be in the Wookiee village, so that was where he intended to go.

_If,_ he sighed inwardly,_ my crew can manage to hold together that far._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Stowaway?" Bastila blinked twice and shook her head. "What do you mean, stowaway?"

"I mean," Juhani said with a hint of impatience, "that there is an intruder onboard. I think there has been since we left Dantooine. Someone's been eating the emergency food supplies, and I keep hearing noises."

Bastila looked over Juhani's shoulder, then back at her. "Come on."

The two women made their way back to the cargo hold where, sure enough, the seal on the emergency supplies had been broken. "Who do you think could have done this?"

"I do not know," Juhani shrugged. "Whoever it is must be very good at hiding."

"Camouflage..." Bastila mused out loud. "If I were trying to hide on a spaceship, what would I try to look like?"

"Well, whoever it is did not choose to hide in the storage containers. I already checked them."

Bastila peered around the room and started to softly walk towards the supply shelves. At the bottom were several stacks of blankets piled rather sloppily. Reaching out, she pulled the top blanket away-

-revealing a young girl, no older than nine years old.

"No jurkadir!" she almost shrieked, and Bastila backpedaled in shock.

"What is she saying?" Juhani asked.

"I wouldn't be the one to know," Bastila replied, and turned back to the girl, speaking slowly. "We aren't going to hurt you."

"Jetii? Dar'jetti?" The girl's eyes were wide with fright, and she pointed at Bastila's lightsaber, swinging from her belt.

"It's a lightsaber," Bastila enunciated. "I'm not going to hurt you. What are you doing here?"

"Tion verd?"

Bastila stood up straight and rubbed her eyes. "I have no idea what she's saying, Juhani. How are we going to deal with this?"

Juhani opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the voice of Canderous came behind them. "Udesil, ad'ika."

Bastila whirled around in shock. "_Mndalorian?_ We've picked up a Mandalorian child?"

"I doubt it," Canderous looked at the girl still hiding beneath the blankets. "Her Mando'a is fragmented and somewhat bastardized, so I imagine she was a captive of Mandalorians for some time, but she managed to escape. _Ori midala,_" he winked at the girl.

"What are you telling her?" Bastila eyed the Mandalorian warrior suspiciously.

"If you must know, I was telling her she should calm down, and that she was very clever." Canderous knelt down and held out his hand. "Uldesiir, burc'ya."

The girl looked at him with a good deal of fear still in her eyes. "Mando'ad! Shukur..."

Canderous smiled, perhaps the kindest expression Bastila had ever seen on the warrior's face. "Verd ori'shya beskar'gam." He held out his hand once more, and the girl, after several long moments, accepted. He pulled her up gently and patted her on the shoulder. "Ori'jate," he smiled. "Ori'jate."

"So what do we do now?" Bastila looked at the odd sight of the Mandalorian with a child.

"We take her back to Dantooine when we get the chance, I suppose" Canderous shrugged. "Can't think of anything else we can do with her. We certainly can't leave her here with the Wookiees."

"Are you going soft on me, Canderous?" Bastila crossed her arms and smirked at the older man. "I've never known you to take an interest in anyone."

"She's earned her way home," he easily replied. "If she can escape from the warriors, she deserves a way to return to her own, and she's not going to get it here."

The girl seemed to sense what he was saying, and threw her arms around his waist. "Vor'e," she said, voice muffled. Language aside, it was impossible to miss the thankfulness that poured off her in that moment.

"I never thought I would see anyone hugging a Mandalorian," Juhani commented.

"Yeah, well, don't get too used to seeing it," Canderous shot back. "This is a... special case. So don't expect any hugfests from me."

"Oh, we'd never expect that," Bastila grinned.

"Well, then let's find this girl a place to stay that's not in the cargo hold." Canderous lifted the girl up and set her atop his shoulders. "I've reached my 'cute' quota for the day."

Bastila exchanged an amused look with Juhani before following him out of the hold. "Oh, I don't think you have at all..."

Nobody wanted to talk.

Heading for the Great Walkway, tempers were flaring so badly that the Force was positively tingling with all the negative energy. This was _not_ a good way for a team to work, not at all. Aiden would have spoken up a mile or so ago but for the fact that he had been the one to suggest moving the conversation to a private place. The only blunder in this plan was that they _had_ no refuge but for the _Ebon Hawk,_ and that was too far away to go back.

"Some brilliant strategist _I_ am," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Carth asked.

"Nothing, I-" Aiden broke off, spying an abandoned hut. "Into the hut."

"What?" Carth looked somewhat confused.

"You know how I said not to have a fight in the middle of a public walkway?"

"Well, yes."

"We're definitely not going any further until you two duke it out. So into the hut." He pointed emphatically at the slightly dilapidated building.

Carth looked at him dubiously, as did Leiraya, but they entered the hut, which appeared to have been abandoned some time ago. Furniture was overturned, and belongings were strewn about the room. Clearly, a Wookiee had lived there at one time, but had been taken captive.

Leiraya looked horrified at the mess. "I am ashamed to be a human being sometimes."

"You've got no reason to be ashamed," Carth sighed, clearly also disturbed by the sight. "It's because of people like you that things like this are stopped."

"I thought I was overreacting." Leiraya sat down on one of the overturned baskets, and looked up in time to see Aiden leaving and closing the door. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Aiden shrugged. "Do I need to be present for this conversation? Or are you two planning on killing each other in my absence?"

Leiraya inwardly grimaced. She was never sure whether she wanted to give the pilot a hug, or if she wanted to kick him, but no, Aiden _didn't_ really need to be there.

The other Jedi seemed to sense this, and grinned. "Just let us know when you're done." He started to close the door, but stuck his head back in as he remembered on last thing. "Oh, and if I hear that the shouting has stopped for fifteen minutes and I haven't seen you come out, we're coming in to check for casualties."

With that, the door closed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she muttered under her breath.

"So." Carth stood on the other side of the room, arms folded. "What's your problem with Czerka?"

"I told you." She set her crutches down on the floor. "They fueled a war that could have easily been defused with a simple explanation."

"But that's not all," he countered. "I know that look- I've been in too many wars and fought with too many people not to know when it's personal."

Her eyes shot up, narrowing. "And I've been a Jedi too long not to notice the same- it's not just Admiral Karath that's bothering you about this war. Fair's fair, flyboy."

The two stared each other down for several moments, until Carth spoke. "You first."

"Why me?"

"Because I asked first."

She was silent for several moments before speaking. "We were twenty years old. It sounds so old when you're younger. You think, 'When I'm 20, I'll really be a grown-up.' Well, twenty's not old. Not old at all."

"Is this about Kylan?"

"Only sort of. He went off to war," she smirked and let out a small, rueful laugh. "Of course. It's what he does. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. And neither would anyone else. Did you ever do anything really stupid to impress a girl?"

Carth was thrown by the seeming sudden change in subject. "I, ahh... I guess. How stupid are we talking?"

There was a long pause before she responded. "Really stupid. Like, getting yourself killed stupid. Not that you've actually gotten yourself killed, obviously, but..." she trailed off. "You know what I mean."

"Who was it?" The question was surprisingly gentle.

"A friend." She shook her head. "I had a hard time convincing him he wasn't actually going to be my one true love. He was adorable, and shy, and irritatingly persistent. I guess he thought that by emulating my best friend he'd be able to score some points with me or something."

"Sounds a bit naïve," he commented.

"A bit? How about a lot? We were _twenty years old,_ Carth. To this day, I wish I could go back and talk him out of it, but he was young, idealistic... and now he's dead. Thanks to a 'benevolent' corporation merely trying to 'help' a species behind the technological times."

Carth sighed. "Listen, I don't like Czerka any more than you do, but they didn't kill your friend."

"Tell that to Skyler's family." She crossed her arms. "Tell that to the family of every soldier who was sent home in a capsule. Without their ships, there wouldn't have _been _a war. Do you know how quickly the conflict ended once the Selonians had all the information? Almost instantaneously."

He started to protest that you couldn't blame weapon suppliers entirely, but he knew the argument wasn't going to get him anywhere. Still, he had to give her credit- she held herself surprisingly well for one who had lost her friends to a war, especially one that seemed to have no point. He knew people who had broken down completely over less, yet here she was, just trying to find her best friend.

There were days when he wished he had that sort of optimism.

"Listen... I'm sorry I trivialized your war, but you've gotta remember I've been in some pretty big wars, myself." Carth shook his head at the thought of all the battles he'd been in. "The Mandalorian Wars were brutal... I'd never seen anything like it. And as bad as they were, these Sith are even worse. Your war may have done considerable damage within one star system, but as you may have noticed, we're losing entire _planets_ here."

Leiraya sighed. "I know. And I don't understand it any more than I understood the Selonian conflict. Whatever could have driven Revan and Malak to turn on the Republic, I can't even imagine."

"Let's hope we have no reason to find out," Carth replied wearily. "I've witnessed enough of what they've done to know that whatever it was, it had to have been nasty."

"Your homeworld, right." She shifted her weight on the basket and continued. "I guess I can be thankful they never turned their ire towards Corellia."

"Not just my homeworld. If that had been all they took away from me, I might be able to live with it." Carth paused, clearly trying to hold himself together. "I... I had a wife and a son on Telos when Karath attacked. When my task force got there, it was too late." He continued, the words pouring out faster and faster, as though a dam was suddenly bursting within him. "I couldn't stop them. I held her in my arms as she died, I screamed for a medic, for anyone... but it was no use. I didn't know enough to help her, and even if I did, we didn't have enough supplies for an entire dying planet. Smoke, and dust, our home reduced to rubble..." he looked up, eyes filled with horror and sorrow. "I almost wish it had been me instead."

"Don't say that," Leiraya immediately responded. "What... what about your son?"

"Dustil? I looked for him everywhere, until it was unsafe to do so anymore. And even after we left, I tried to find information, any small hint of his whereabouts. But after about two years... I gave up." He hung his head in defeat. "I couldn't do it anymore."

Leiraya carefully got up and made her way across the room to where Carth stood. Looking up at him, she simply said, "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to worry about me," he waved her off. "I'm going to find Karath, and he is going to pay for what he did. And then..." he trailed off. And then what? He honestly didn't know, and before meeting with this particular crew, he hadn't really cared.

His thoughts were broken by the sound of Leiraya's voice. "Can I give you a hug?"

The question caught him slightly off-guard. He couldn't even _remember_ the last time someone had offered to give him a hug. He'd never really allowed himself to get close enough to anyone who would. Not since Telos. But this crew... he actually _liked_ them. Not just out of duty, but because they were really and truly good people, and weren't as scared of his rank as many of the other military people tended to be. For the first time in a very long time, he was just another one of the crew. He'd almost forgotten what it was like.

Nodding, he accepted her one-armed embrace. "Yeah," he smiled sadly. "Yeah."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen 

Aiden sighed heavily as he closed the door behind him. He probably _did_ need to be in there, if for no other reason than to make it clear that yelling at every Czerka official they met was not an option, but he had other things to worry about. That, and one can only listen to ranting about corporate oppression for so long. However, there were too many things that didn't add up and weren't making sense. He hoped that Zaalbar would be willing to talk if the others weren't around, else he would be floundering around for quite a bit longer.

Zaalbar seemed to pick up on this. "You wish for me to explain things?"

"Yes," Aiden paced back and forth. "There's too many things that don't quite make sense. Why are these people here? Why do the Wookiees put up with it? And what did you do to get yourself exiled?" Seeing the irritated glow in the Wookiee's eyes, he hastily added, "No offense, of course. I just want to know what I'm going to be up against if I have to defend you."

Zaalbar sighed. "It is a long story, but I will make it short. My father was the leader of the village when I left. I thought he was very strong, and very wise. I was wrong. My brother, Chuundar, held sway over him. He deceived our father, making it look like he had nothing to do with the coming of the Czerka slavers." He growled angrily. "I confronted Chuundar, but he laughed at me and called our father a doddering old fool. In my anger, I… I struck him with my claws." He hung his head. "There are some lines you do not cross."

"So you were exiled?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Some madclaws live forever in the Shadowlands, but I did not wish to remain on the planet. I knew that, had I stayed, I would have been taken by the slavers. Chuundar would have seen to it."

"And so you left, and found yourself on Taris." Aiden nodded slowly. "They're not going to be happy you're back."

"Not at all," Zaalbar agreed. "They would be within their rights to kill me, I think."

"Oh. Great." Not only did he have to deal with the Big Bad Corporation, but now even the Wookiees were probably going to be against him. He really knew how to pick his companions, didn't he? "Well, whatever happens, we're on your side."

"For that I thank you, though I do not think it will do much good."

"Little support never hurts."

Zaalbar could only roar his agreement. "That it does not."

Canderous sat in the _Ebon Hawk's_ lounge, trying to teach the girl to speak Basic. So far, he'd gotten her to understand "ship," "food," and "T3-M4," and found out that her name was Sasha. Having never taught anyone a language before, however, he was having a bit of an interesting time of it.

It also didn't help that he could tell Bastila was watching him, and he _knew_ the Jedi princess was very much amused by what she was seeing.

Something about giving her that kind of satisfaction just grated on him.

Sasha turned out to be a fairly quick study, though, and after a mere few hours work, she could skip about, introduce herself to everyone, and ask where the 'fresher was, among a few more basic things. Cute as all hell, he would grudgingly admit. And bright as any child he'd ever worked with. Not that he'd ever worked with many children… mostly just the boys, getting them ready for training. Now _there_ was a worthwhile passtime. It'd been years since he'd worked with the young recruits, but there was nothing quite like knowing that _you _were the one to start a great warrior on his proper path.

His eyes followed Sasha as she peered into T3's receptor eye, and jumped back when he blatted at her. In retribution, she poked the small 'droid, who whistled in protest and tried to roll over her toes. Sasha yelped, ran across the room, and looked at the 'droid warily.

Canderous sighed. "T3, don't antagonize the kid." T3 merely whistled innocently in reply, and rolled out of the room.

Bastila entered as T3 rolled out, and arched her eyebrow curiously. "Having trouble with the 'droid?"

"No, not at all." Canderous replied easily. "I think the 'droid is just a little over-sensitive. Can't take a good poking now and then, apparently."

Bastila merely looked amused. He _hated_ it when she looked that amused- to think of a Mandalorian giving a Jedi that sort of satisfaction. She shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. "Perhaps your little friend just doesn't know how to deal with 'droids."

They both turned their heads abruptly when Sasha spoke. "I know 'droids," she timidly said. "Basilisks. Fires. Very big, not like little 'droid."

"Basilisks?" Bastila gaped. "Those were… well, the most destructive ships in the Mandalorian fleet! What were you doing around those?"

Sasha glanced nervously between Bastila and Canderous. "I…" she stammered, and then bolted from the room.

"Good work, Princess." Canderous grunted. "Her Basic isn't that good, you've really gotta be a little more careful when you talk to her."

"How is this _my_ fault?"

"Did you see me saying anything to upset her?"

Bastila was silent for a moment. "All right, I'll watch my tone," she conceded. "I didn't mean to scare her off."

Canderous stood and stretched before starting to move out. "Tell that to Sasha," he said over his shoulder, then left the room.

"Right," Bastila said to the empty air, then simply closed her eyes and sighed.

Aiden turned his head as he heard the door open behind him. Carth came out first, holding the door for Leiraya as she swung out. "You two ready to move on?"

"Absolutely," Leiraya replied. "Let's find this village."

"And if we run into more Czerka people, do you promise not to go ballistic on me?"

She looked sourly at him, but nodded. "I'll choke it down. But only because I like you, not because my opinion has changed."

"I'd never expect it to." He motioned for them to follow. "Let's get moving- I think we can reach Rwookrrorro before dark."

It was not long before they reached the gate to the Great Walkway, but of course, it was guarded by Czerka personnel.

The guard on the right cast a bored gaze on the motley crew and yawned. "What brings you to this pit?"

"We're just wishing to pass into the village," Aiden replied, hoping that both Leiraya and Zaalbar would manage to keep quiet in spite of the complete disregard the guards seemed to pay to the planet.

"And why would you want to do that? You've already got a slave."

Aiden could sense Zaalbar's wrath, he knew he had to move quickly. Reaching out with the Force, he planted a small suggestion, a mere nudge, really, into the guard's mind. "You really don't want to ask us any more questions."

"I don't want to ask you any more questions," the guard agreed.

"You want to let us pass," Aiden continued.

"You can go ahead and pass," the guard nodded, and motioned for the guard on the other side to open the gate. "Let 'em through."

"Thank you," Aiden smiled. "Pleasure talking to you."

"Pleasure's all mine," the guard snorted. "You're the one who's going to have to deal with the Kinrath and all the other unnaturally large pests on the Walkway. We clear them out of the top levels, but once you pass through here, you're on your own."

"We'll manage," he replied, then walked through the gate. It looked much like the walkway on the other side, though the signs of civilization decreased significantly. He turned back and nodded to the gate guard, who merely shook his head in disgust and closed the gate.

"You'll be eaten by the bugs, and _then_ you'll be sorry." With that, the gate closed, and Aiden slowly turned-

-to find himself face to face with a black and grey robed figure, flanked by two other figures, seemingly identical to him.

"Who are you?" he managed, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

In response, the trio lit blood red lightsabers. "Lord Malak was most displeased you escaped the destruction of Taris," the leader replied. "I think the bugs are the least of your worries."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: On April 1, 2006, I posted Chapter 16 both here and on I proceeded to be completely buried by school. TFN was updated, FFN was not. And I have to hand it to TFN, ****they caught the date, which no one here did. So... umm... I'm here, more than a year later, to tell you... April Fool's. **

** You're entirely allowed to hate me for forgetting this. But, if it makes you feel any better, the neglect was largely in the pursuit of higher education, and I know have a snazzy Computer Science degree. To make it up to you, I'm going to post two chapters this update, and try to remember to update every week.  
**

** Again, my apologies for leaving this so long. **

**Chapter Sixteen: Okay, it's for real this time.**

Aiden stood, dumbstruck for several seconds. Malak? Why would he be even remotely interested in him? Well, he supposed that the whole Star Map thing might have influenced Malak's ire, but his escape from_Taris, _of all places, should have been of no consequence to the Sith Lord. Bastila, he could understand, but she was back on the ship.

Wasting no more time, he hastily pushed his assailants back with the Force, using the few seconds it bought him to draw his lightsaber. Numerically, he had the advantage, though he wasn't sure how much use Leiraya was going to be, between her pacifistic streak and her injury.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, he saw one of the trio advancing on her, likely going in for the easy kill first. Aiden prepared to rush to her aid, but much to his surprise she dropped her crutches and did a back walkover, landing on one leg as she used the Force to send her crutches flying in the face of the Sith. Distracted, he fell backwards, and Zaalbar hit him with a quick blast from his crossbow. One down.

The leader turned his attention on Aiden, his aura seeming to toe the line between rage and mere irritation. Of course, having one's henchmen taken down by the only injured person present had to be embarrassing, so he supposed it only made sense. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about the other irritable-looking Sith, but was fortunately spared from making any decisions when he saw him rise gracefully into the air, spinning about like a leaf caught in a mild tornado. Must have been Leiraya's work again, but he had to turn his attention fully to the Sith who was attempting to separate his head from his shoulders by any means possible.

He had decided quite some time ago that he wasn't such a fan of these Sith characters.

Trading blows back and forth, they danced about, jumping over stray vines and insect carcasses that littered the walkway. Carth had strategically placed himself behind a pile of crates, blasting at whatever he could hit. He managed to quickly shoot down the spinning Sith, and tried to aim shots at the leader that would not end up hitting Aiden instead of their intended target.

Between Carth and Zaalbar shooting, Leiraya's Force tricks, and Aiden's swordsmanship, the lead Sith was hopelessly outnumbered. It was not long before he too went down, ending the brief skirmish before any major damage was done.

Leiraya levitated her crutches back to her and looked at Aiden sourly. "Well, that was fun."

"You looked like you were having more fun than the rest of us," Aiden commented. "I didn't know you could move like that."

She shrugged. "Dancing was a big part of my combat training."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

"Is anybody else wondering what the hell just happened?" Carth queried. "Because I'm at a loss."

"Malak must have known we would go looking for the Star Maps." Aiden furrowed his brow. "I don't know why he'd jump to that conclusion, though."

"And he was mad that _you_ escaped Taris," Carth frowned. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Aiden looked slightly startled. "What are you trying to imply? That I have some secret undercover connection to the Sith?"

"I'm not implying anything," he replied tersely. "But you have to admit that it _is_ strange that _you're _the one he's interested in. No offense, but both Bastila and I were much higher profile than you."

"Well, my identity on Taris wasn't exactly a secret." It was true enough; he'd been forced to enter in the biggest swoop race of the year in order to win Bastila's freedom. That sort of thing was important to the Tarisian population, so he'd gained a sort of celebrity status on the planet.

"True," Carth conceded. "But, it still doesn't make sense."

"Look," Aiden sighed impatiently. "Would you be happier if I declared myself to be your enemy? Because you seem to be really wanting me to."

"No, I don't." Carth shook his head and sighed. "I really would like to believe that this is just a string of coincidences. But I don't want to be surprised by anything nasty, and that means I have to ask these questions."

"Believe me, if I knew the reason they were so interested, you'd be the first to know."

"And as much as I enjoy this attempt at trust building between team members," Leiraya looked pointedly at the darkening sky, "We should probably get moving. I'd hate to see what frequents this walkway after nightfall."

"[She is right," Zaalbar concurred. "[The more predatory insects will come out after dark."

"Then let's move," Aiden started forward. "I've done quite enough fighting for one day."

"Agreed," Leiraya nodded. Carth still looked dissatisfied, but he nodded his assent and followed. There were times when argument was just not the best solution.

And they had a long distance to cover before dark.

It was just past nightfall when they reached the village, relatively incident free. There was a skirmish with a falling vine that Aiden mistook for some strange form of insect wildlife, but he effectively dismembered the offending plant before it could threaten the lives of his crew.

It would be nice, he reflected, if all problems could be so easily solved.

This feeling intensified as he saw the glares of the Wookiees. It was abundantly clear that off-worlders were not welcome, even if they were supposedly the defenders of peace and justice in the galaxy.

Zaalbar noticed his discomfort. "[They cannot tell the difference between one off-worlder and the next," he said softly. "[To them, humans are all slavers. You will not be well-recieved."

"Oh. Great." Aiden sighed inwardly. The last thing he needed was a bunch of angry Wookiees after him. A few Sith were defeatable. A whole village of Wookiees, however, would be a bit more challenging in a way that would likely end up with him being dead if he tried to resist. "You don't suppose they'll talk to me, do you?"

"[You can try," Zaalbar gestured towards a large hut in the centre of the village. "[The leader of the village resides there. He will be the one you will have to speak to."

Nodding, Aiden headed towards the hut, fervently hoping that whoever was in charge would at least hear him out before writing him and his crew off as slavers. The thought of anyone mistaking Leiraya for a slaver was amusing enough to tug at the corners of his mouth, but he was far from certain that the patriarch of the village would have any reason to know the difference between an activist and a slaver.

Looking as confident as he could manage, he pushed the wooden door open, revealing a large space with several Wookiees standing about, flanked by humans and Twi'leks clad in Czerka Corporation uniforms. _What in all nine Corellian hells..._

"[Chuundar..." he heard Zaalbar softly growl. "[You have not changed."

The central Wookiee stood, striding forward purposefully. "[Zaalbar. I would not have thought you to be so foolish as to actually return."

"[It was not my wish," Zaalbar growled. "[I owe this off-worlder a life debt, and his mission brought him here. I am merely a guide."

"[Did this off-worlder know what you are?" Chuundar looked mockingly at Zaalbar. "[Honoring a life-debt is surprising for one of your kind."

"[Do not speak to me so," Zaalbar roared. "[You know as well as I do why I was exiled."

"[Yes, I do, madclaw." Chuundar sneered. "[And you know what the penalty of your return is."

"[And you know what the requirements of a life debt are," Zaalbar shot back.

"[Yes, but does he?" Chuundar caressed his bowcaster. "[I doubt he would know the difference if I decided to deviate from it."

At that, Aiden decided he'd had enough. "Excuse me? I can understand everything you're saying." Chuundar looked displeased, but he stopped talking. "And I'm not about to let you kill Zaalbar. He owes me his life, therefore you cannot take it from me."

"[Then you should not have brought him back," was Chuundar's biting reply, but he looked thoughtfully at the band of off-worlders. "[Unless..."

"Unless what?" Aiden asked suspiciously.

"[There is a madclaw in the Shadowlands. He is disturbing those who go down to do honourable hunting. Most say he is utterly mad." He paused. "[If you would be willing to dispose of this honourless creature, I might be willing to let you go."

"Only if I get to bring Zaalbar with me," Aiden stated firmly.

Chuundar, however, would have none of it. "[No. If you wish to keep his life, then you must earn it without his assistance. You and your friends will go alone. Grrawbeck will see you to the elevator."

"At this hour?" Aiden looked out the window at the now completely black skies. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"[I see you have a lightsaber, as does one of your companions. This means you are Jedi. I trust you can handle yourselves." Chuundar's eyes held a menacing gleam. "[The alternative is much less pleasant."

Recalling his dread of fighting off an entire village of Wookiees, Aiden acquiesced. "All right, then. Lead on..."


	17. Chapter 17

1The elevator that was to take them down to the Shadowlands was massive. Of course, anything designed with Wookiees in mind tended to be so, but the railed platform could easily hold a small dance company. They were wordlessly shuffled aboard, and a sour-faced Wookiee who didn't even bother to introduce himself flipped a series of switches that caused the vines holding the elevator to slowly lower them through the trees.

Leiraya peered over the edge. "I can't see the bottom."

"I think we're going to be here for a while..." Aiden sighed. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," Carth agreed. "But we don't seem to have much of a choice, do we?"

"No, we really don't." Aiden fell silent.

After several minutes, and with the bottom still not in sight, Carth decided to make conversation. "So, Leiraya... you have dance training?"

"Yeah, my Masters thought it would be a good idea." She shrugged. "I didn't mind it at all, and might have done it anyway. Kylan wasn't quite as thrilled, though."

"Why not?"

"We were sixteen years old when his Master made him start dancing. He was tall, awkward, and didn't want to be there. Fortunately for him, it was a more social form of dancing and less formal. He got to the formal stuff later, but Master Louis knows what he's doing when it comes to training." She smiled at the memory. "I'll never forget the first time he came dancing. I think I might have talked his ears off. We hadn't really met before, but we sort of knew each other by virtue of proximity."

"I remember mandatory dance classes," Carth reminisced. "Most of the guys hated them."

Leiraya's eyebrows raised in amusement. "You had to take mandatory dance classes?"

"Oh yes. Standard military training, should any of us be required to attend a formal event. Etiquette, proper attire, and all the standard dance moves." He grinned ruefully. "I wasn't great at it, but it was fun."

"Did you ever have occasion to actually use this training?"

"Of course," he smiled at the memory. "The University of Telos hosted an annual formal for its students."

"University?" Leiraya echoed. "Colour me impressed, I didn't know you had a degree."

"Mechanical engineering. Learned how to pull a starfighter apart and put it back together so that it worked three times better. Military paid for my education, and in return," he gestured grandly, "I became an amazing soldier for them."

"And a handy one at that." Leiraya observed. "So you can pull a starfighter apart, and then waltz around the pieces?"

"Something like that." Carth chuckled. "It's been a long time, though."

"I'd offer to change that, but you'll forgive me if I refrain from dancing at the present," Leiraya gestured towards her still swollen knee. "It's holding up, but that fight wasn't doing me any favours."

"You realize that makes Bastila right," Carth pointed out. "You probably should have stayed on the ship."

"And miss this fabulous display of greenery? Never." She shook her head. "I've never seen trees like this in my life, and should we survive the giant insects, I think the Shadowlands will be a positive experience."

"You just keep thinking that when the Kinrath start bearing down-"

"We're here." Aiden interrupted the conversation. Sure enough, the platform was hovering a mere few feet from the ground. "Anybody have a glowrod?"

Leiraya rummaged around in her ever-present shoulder bag for a few moments, and produced the small device, handing it to Carth. From her belt, she unhooked her lightsaber, igniting the emerald blade.

Aiden raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Don't tell me you use that thing as a glowrod."

She merely shrugged. "Fine, I won't tell you."

Sighing, he stepped off the platform, now firmly on the ground, and ignited his own blade. "The things you learn from your crewmates..." he trailed off, noticing that there was a campfire right in front of them.

Carth immediately had his hand on his blaster, scanning the area for possible threats. Leiraya also looked warily about her, not feeling in a terrible mood for more fighting. The sound of boots on dried leaves made them all spin around. There, dimly lit by the flickering flames of the campfire, stood Calo Nord.

"Well, what have we here?" the stocky bounty hunter smirked, blaster pointed directly at Aiden.

"I thought you were dead," Aiden said flatly. Usually, falling durasteel girders were more than enough to kill a person, and that's exactly what had happened to Nord during the destruction of Taris. Clearly, this was not always the case.

"I'm hard to kill," Nord shrugged. "Certainly by the likes of you. Now, what do you suppose an upstart Jedi would be doing wandering a place like Kashyyyk? Hardly seems like standard procedure for the Council to send someone like _you_ out. You weren't even toting that saber last I saw you."

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you what I'm doing here?" Aiden snorted derisively. "You must be dumber than you look."

"Now, there's no need to be insulting. I just came here to settle a score. _Nobody_ escapes me." Nord's tone darkened. "And that's a statistically provable fact."

"If you couldn't get me last time, what makes you think you can now?"

"First of all, you had luck on your side on Taris." Nord shrugged. "Second of all, I never make the same mistake twice." Wasting no further time, he threw a flash grenade on the ground between him and the trio. The effect was to temporarily blind his opponents, which his opacity-adjusting goggles prevented from happening to himself.

Aiden immediately reached out into the Force, trying to sense where Nord was. He felt a flurry of shots coming at him, and he had to quickly ignite his saber to block them.

Nord wasn't lying about his record- Aiden had heard more than once on Taris of the notorious bounty hunter. His stature was below average, but he was arguably the most deadly man in the galaxy. Well, aside from possibly Darth Malak, but there were some who wouldn't even place their credits on that bet. Calo Nord fought his way to the top from practically nothing, and there were few things that could stop him.

Aiden could only hope that he and his friends were enough.

Carth had his blasters out almost immediately, and he took cover behind a large tree root. Leiraya, on the other hand, merely looked somewhat irritated and created a Force barrier between the trio and the bounty hunter. The blaster bolts reflected off it, but both she and Aiden knew it would not last long. Reaching into her ever-present shoulder bag, she pulled out a small smoke grenade and tossed it into the ground between Nord and Aiden. It was impossible to see anything through it, but Aiden didn't need sight.

He deactivated his lightsaber. Reaching out with the Force, he sent the saber spiraling to where he could sense the bounty hunter's presence, turning it on when he felt it was near enough. He heard a grunt and a thud, and the blaster bolts stopped. He still couldn't see anything, but his senses confirmed the kill.

Calo Nord had taken a fatal hit.

Letting out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he called his lightsaber back to his hand. It had been a short, but intense battle, and he hoped fervently that they would be able to avoid any more such battles for a long time.

"It's been a long time since I've seen fighting like that," a voice came from behind him, belonging neither to Leiraya nor to Carth. It was low and gruff, sounding like it belonged to someone much older than anyone on his crew.

Turning around, he saw an elderly man with dark skin and a grey beard on his chin. The top of his head was smooth, and his eyes had an ironic twinkle to them. He was dressed in simple robes, reminiscent of the Jedi style, and a lightsaber was clipped to his belt.

"Who are you?" Aiden asked, quite curious to see what kind of Jedi would be in the Shadowlands.

"Now, is that the way to address the person who lives here? I'm the one who gets to ask that question, dammit. You come into my home and start fighting, you'd better believe I get to ask the questions," he crossed his arms and looked irritated, though the resonance his presence had in the Force indicated he was anything _but_ irritated.

"Careful, Aiden," Carth whispered. "He might be crazy."

"I heard that," the man snapped. "You young folk, think you can say anything you want, the crazy old man won't hear, he's probably half deaf anyway."

Carth didn't respond, but he looked mildly chagrined and settled into the sour look he tended to get on his face when conversations didn't go his way.

"The name's Jolee Bindo," the man finally said. "And I live down here. So, who are you, and what are you doing making a mess in my backyard?"

"My name is Aiden Star," he introduced himself. "These are members of my crew, Carth Onasi and Leiraya Moran. We're on a mission for the Jedi Council."

"Ahh, one of those Jedi missions," he nodded knowingly. "Had to know they'd find a way to show up on my doorstep eventually."

"But..." Aiden glanced at the lightsaber hanging from Jolee's belt. "Aren't you a Jedi?"

"No." His voice darkened ever so slightly. "And before you ask, no, I'm not going to explain."

Aiden sighed. He sensed no malice in the man, but he was among the most cantankerous people he had ever met, and he'd only been talking to the man for a few minutes. "Well, do you suppose you could help us out?"

Jolee looked intently at him for a few moments, and then motioned for them to follow him. "Let's go to my house. It's just down the way."

Shrugging, Aiden looked over at Carth and Leiraya and beckoned for them to follow. They made their way down a narrow but well-trodden path to a house that had been constructed around the exposed roots of a wroshyr tree. Jolee sat down on a smaller root and motioned for them to do the same. Aiden and Carth sat, looking dubiously at their host, and Leiraya cautiously lowered herself on to one of the higher-sitting roots, propping her crutches against it once she was settled.

"Now, I have a proposal for you." Jolee looked pointedly at Aiden. "Now, I know a few things about this area, and I think I know what your after. And I can help you. But," he paused, "you'll have to help me out first."

"And what, precisely, does this help entail?"

"There's a team of Czerka scientists down the way," Jolee stated simply. "They make a lot of noise, and have been messing with my garden. I don't like people who mess with my garden. Get rid of them, and we'll talk."

"How do you propose we do that?" Aiden looked at the old man skeptically. He didn't like Czerka, but he also didn't have any reason to chase them out of the area. Of course, if it would get him to the Star Map, he wouldn't complain. Much.

"You're the creative one, I saw how you took care of that bounty hunter back there." Jolee shrugged. "You might as well take your friend in the orange jacket, too. Numbers always help."

Carth looked from Aiden, to Jolee, to Leiraya, and then back to Jolee. "What about her?"

"She's injured, dammit! You think I'm going to send someone who's already been doing too much fighting to get rid of a bunch of pests? You won't need her help, you seem like capable young men." Jolee crossed his arms. "So go on, time's wasting."

Aiden looked at Carth, shrugged, and they both stood. The man was clearly at least slightly crazy, but he was willing to help them. Wordlessly, they moved on, further down the narrow path.

Leiraya watched them as they departed, and then looked back at Jolee. "Normally I get irritated when people do that, but thanks. I've been caught in a few too many fights recently."

"I could feel the pain radiating off that thing from all the way over here when you landed," Jolee replied. "I'm impressed you don't show it more, and that you can maneuver at all on those crutches."

"Well, they're not the best. I could really use a cane, but nobody seems to have them around here. The Wookiees don't like humans and wouldn't make one for me if I asked, and I wouldn't support any business involving Czerka if my life depended on it." She wrinkled her nose sourly at the mention of the company, as if it left a terrible odour in the air as it was uttered. "So crutches it is."

"We might be able to do something about that," Jolee looked thoughtful for a moment. "Come on inside, I'll make you some tea. The boys are going to be a while yet, I imagine."

Picking herself back up, she followed him inside. He was kindly and cranky in pendulum swings, but in an odd sort of way, she liked him. It had also been far too long since her last decent cup of tea, and a good cup of tea can cover a world of wrongs.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Bastila spent several long minutes searching the _Ebon Hawk_ for Sasha. Canderous was refusing to help her find the child, and she was half afraid she'd set the poor thing off running again. Sasha clearly wasn't comfortable around her, and now she'd gone and made her run away.

She thought back to her own childhood. When she was Sasha's age, she had been at the Dantooine enclave for a few years. Certainly she'd never had to deal with anything as brutal as the Mandalorians, though Master Vrook had seemed like quite the tribulation at the time. She did understand, however, being separated from one's family. Her mother she didn't miss so much, but her father... she stopped to shake her head. She still held a very special place in her heart for her father, though she'd tried to eliminate the attachment.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" Bastila plopped herself down atop one of the storage crates and buried her face in her hands. She was never going to find Sasha, because Sasha was specifically avoiding _her_. It was a hopeless cause. Clearly, she was just not meant to deal with small children, and should never be allowed to be a mother. _If I can't even keep track from a Mandalorian captive runaway, I'm doomed..._

A small shuffling noise brought her head up from its nest in her palms. Brown eyes darting around, she saw Sasha standing in front of her, looking wary but curious. "Are you sad?" the young girl inquired.

"Maybe a little," Bastila admitted. "Did I scare you?"

Sasha looked deviantly at Bastila and smiled. "Maybe a little."

_Oh, Force, the girl has a streak of snark in her. Wonderful._ "You're a fast learner."

Sasha shrugged. "Not so hard. Knew it once, long time ago. I just..." she seemed to be searching for the correct word in Basic, "forget. Forgot?"

"Forgot, yes. Past tense." Bastila nodded.

"What's a pass tents?" Sasha inquired curiously.

"Nothing," Bastila replied wearily. "I'm just... so confused."

"Why?" The girl looked at her innocently, and for some reason, Bastila was just frustrated enough with life that talking with someone who wouldn't talk down at her for once seemed like a nice change.

"It's hard to explain," she leaned back against the wall. "My Masters... they've given me so much responsibility. I don't even know how it happened. I didn't try to be a hero, it just sort of happened. 'Go capture Revan,' they told me. Such a fine job I did of it."

"Who's Revan?" Sasha asked, perching herself atop another storage crate and looking as though she were ready for a good story.

"Revan was a bad man," Bastila shook her head. "Killed lots of people. He had to be stopped."

"What happened to him?"

"We defeated him," Bastila stated simply. The child did not need to know the gory details, and in any case, she didn't think she'd tell anyone who wasn't her Master what happened on that mission.

"So you beat the bad man, but you're still sad?" Sasha looked confused. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

"It's not that simple," Bastila sighed. "His apprentice- student," she corrected when she saw Sasha's confused look, "shot at him before we got the chance. And he's still around."

Sasha seemed to consider this. "So... now you're trying to beat the bad student man?"

"That's about right," Bastila couldn't help smiling a little.

"What's going to happen to me?" Sasha suddenly changed the subject, a hint of fear in her eyes.

"I don't know, exactly," Bastila replied honestly. "But I imagine we'll take you back to the Enclave on Dantooine at some point. The Jedi can find a home for you there."

"Oh," Sasha looked thoughtful. "Can I help anywhere?"

Bastila pondered this for a moment, sitting up and eyeing the girl carefully. "Well, we can always use an extra hand keeping the ship clean. After all," she leaned in conspiratorially, "the men tend to smell the place up considerably."

Sasha giggled. "I can help with the smelly." She hopped down off the crate and grabbed Bastila's hand. "Come on, show me how."

Bastila hardly had any time to protest as she was pulled out of the room by the young girl. She wasn't quite sure what to do with their newly enthusiastic passenger, but it was undeniably adorable. She supposed if she had to be left on the ship, she may as well be on board with someone who seemed happy just to be alive and running around. It was a refreshing change.

"All right, Sasha, let's see what we can find in the supply bins..."

The interior of Jolee's home could only be described as organic. Given the size of wroshyr trees, one could usually find a cross-section large enough to make almost anything, especially down in the Shadowlands. The table and chairs were simple, merely pieces cut from fallen branches. Some of the other items were ornately carved, such as the chair that sat in front of his makeshift fireplace.

"Have a seat, young lady. Been a long time since I've had anyone for tea," Jolee gestured towards the seating arrangement and started pulling clay jars and mugs out of a cupboard. "Don't ask for anything fancy, 'cause I haven't got it. We don't exactly have gourmet stores down here."

"I'm sure whatever you have will be lovely," Leiraya assured him. "I like most kinds of tea, anyway."

"Well, this is my personal blend," he put water from a cistern into a clay kettle and walked across the room to hang it over the fire. "So we'll find out if it's to your liking. Now," he reached into a pile of medium-sized branches he had in the corner and picked out a few pieces. "Stand up and let me see how the height is on these."

Complying, Leiraya took each of the branches in turn until they found one that was the appropriate height to be a cane. "So I'm getting an authentic Kashyyyk branch for my cane?"

"A little better than just that, seeing as we have a bit of time here," Jolee took the branch back and pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Nothin' fancy, mind you, and if money were worth anything down here I might charge it. But anyone willing to boycott the scum that comprises Czerka is all right in my book."

"I can't even believe it," Leiraya suppressed a shiver. "I had heard that slavery still existed in certain quarters of the galaxy, but I never thought it would be so brutal. And the things they're doing can't possibly be good for the environment."

"See, this is where the Czerka philosophy does not line up with that of decent people. They figure, the planet is resources, put there for them to use. They think that not using the resources is letting them go to

waste, and is irresponsible." Jolee shook his head in disgust. "Buncha low-life tree-chopping, Wookiee-grabbing sons of a schutta."

"Can't the Wookiees do anything about it? I mean, they're strong enough, and there's enough of them."

"Let me tell you a story." Jolee sat down, beginning to carve into the branch. "Once I was on Alderaan, saw a whole flock of Cairoka birds. Beautiful white creatures, but not always so smart. They tend to live in massive nests, with one or two birds leading the whole lot of 'em. So one day, there's a really dangerous brush fire in the fields, right near the nests. Common sense says the birds should leave, right?"

"Well, yes. Survival instinct should kick in, shouldn't it?"

"You'd think. But the leader birds didn't leave. And since the leaders of the nest stayed..."

"So did all the other birds." Leiraya shook her head. "Chuundar's a problem, isn't he?"

"This village isn't going to last long at the rate he's going. And what he doesn't realize is that if they feel he's getting out of hand, they'll take him, too."

Leiraya was quiet for a while, as Jolee pulled the kettle off the heat and prepared a cup of tea for her. She accepted it with a thoughtful look on her face, and enquired, "Is there any way they could find a new leader bird?"

"The Wookiees are big on tradition," Jolee replied. "Family lines and all that, though things have been harder since Bacca's blade was lost. Used to be said that whoever held that particular sword was the legitimate Patriarch."

"And what happened to it?" Leiraya asked taking a slow sip of the tea. It had a smoky flavour and was slightly fruity. Quite good for a homemade blend, really.

"Nobody knows," Jolee shrugged, sipping his own tea and continuing on with his carving. "I imagine it's around somewhere, as things don't just disappear. But the Shadowlands are a nasty place to try to look for something."

"So why are there Czerka scientists down here? If it's really that nasty."

"They've got electronic dohickeys that keep away the nastier pests," Jolee waved his hands dismissively. "They just want a nice, quiet place to conduct their business. Which is also what I wanted, and I was here first, dammit."

Leiraya had to smile at that. "This is a strange place to choose to live."

"What can I say? I crashed here twenty years ago, and decided it wasn't such a bad place. Best trees in the galaxy, and the Wookiees are nice enough when they don't want to rip your limbs off."

"I'll give you the trees, certainly. Though I'm not sure that even I would stay in the Shadowlands..."

"Of course you wouldn't. You're Corellian, and you'd probably much rather be at home right now." Seeing her looking curiously at him, he continued, "The accent, lass. Been to Corellia a couple of times, a long time ago."

"Really?" Leiraya looked intrigued. "What were you doing there?"

"Nothing that concerns you," he replied nonchalantly. "It was a long time ago, anyway, probably before you were born."

Leiraya considered questioning further, since it was exceedingly difficult for off-worlders to be granted access on-planet once, much less multiple times. But something in his tone indicated that even if she asked, she probably wouldn't get an answer. Instead, she sipped her tea and said, "It really is a beautiful place."

"Miss it, don't you?"

"Only a lot." She set her cup down on the table. "I really do love all the people I've met, and what I'm doing is important... but let's face it- the only thing keeping me from being homesick all the time is the fact that everything's a new adventure here, so it keeps me distracted. Which is good, I guess... but it'll be nice to be home. No more fighting and all that."

"So how'd you get mixed up with this crowd, anyway? Nice Corellian girls like you aren't usually found wandering the galaxy."

"I'm looking for someone," she stated simply. "So if you happen to see another Corellian Jedi, male, real tall, 'bout my age, send him in my direction, will you?"

Jolee chuckled softly. "Not many Jedi come through here, though I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," she picked up her tea, cradling the cup and concentrating on its aroma. Maybe if she could just think about that, she wouldn't have to think about her friends and family back home, or how much they wouldn't approve of her current company. Cavorting with non-Corellians was frowned upon, and while a

solo mission had been tolerated, it had also almost gotten her killed. If Aiden hadn't pulled her out of that cell on Taris, she'd be rubble with the rest of the planet. That detail might warm at least her family to the crew, if not the larger population. In any case, she knew worrying about it was useless. Right now, she had to focus on helping Aiden and finding Kylan.

_I may hate fighting,_ she mused, _but at least it's distracting._

"Remind me again why we're doing this for the old man?" Carth squinted his eyes, trying to see anything that resembled a group of scientists.

"Because he knows his way around the area," Aiden replied, pushing ahead. "And I think he knows where the Star Map is."

"How do you know that?"

"He's a Jedi, at least of some sort, for starters. And it looks like he's been here for a while. Plus, I just have a feeling."

"One of those Force things?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I really hate it when Jedi say that." Carth scowled slightly. "You can't contradict it."

"In any case, it's the best lead we have." Aiden shrugged. "If it means we have to run an errand for him, it's annoying but a small price to pay."

"And how do you plan on getting rid of these Czerka types? They're not just going to run off because you told them so. And as much as I hate slavers, I don't much like the idea of just killing them all."

Aiden didn't respond for a moment. To be honest, he didn't currently have a plan, and 'kick The Man's collective arse' was working as a last resort in his brain. "I'll figure it out when I get there?"

"So nice to see confidence in leadership," Carth started, but his snarky remark was cut short by the sight of what looked to be a cluster of men in Czerka uniforms, surrounded by an array of sensors and other mechanical devices. "Well, look at what we have here."

The Czerka team was not oblivious to their approach. "You, there!" one of them called out and pointed a blaster in their general direction. "What is your business here?"

Aiden looked at Carth, shrugged, and stepped forward. "We're, ah... wondering what it is you do down here?"

"Why?" The man looked at him suspiciously.

"Because we're... looking for work," Aiden improvised, hoping to get some information out of the man before resorting to violence.

"Work? Well," the man lowered his blaster and gestured for them to come closer, which the pair did. "We've got a few jobs you could do, if you're interested."

"What kind of jobs are we talking about?"

"Tachs," the man replied, causing Carth to raise his eyebrows skeptically. Tachs were small, rodent-like creatures native to Kashyyyk that were running all over the place. "Don't look so surprised. Their glands are very valuable and fetch a high price on the market. All you have to do is spray some of this," he produced a small bottle from his pack, "on yourself, and it drives them crazy. They're easily killed in that state, and you only need bring them back here."

Aiden had to work to keep a horrified expression from covering his face, so he asked, "Mind if we check out your operation before we decide if we want to work for you?"

The man shrugged indifferently. "Look if you must, but I don't want to see you meddling with anything."

"Thanks," Aiden nodded, and walked away from the man, more towards the center of the camp.

Carth followed, looking skeptically about them. "This is insane. You do know that, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He looked around, seeing that there were four sensor arrays of some sort, each with a guard by them. "Let's check those guys out."

Carth nodded, and the two strolled over to one of the guards. "So," Aiden looked around them with a small grin on his face, "this is where you work every day?"

The guard nodded sourly. "Kriffing lousy assignment, isn't it?"

"I'll say," Carth made a face. "What are these things for?"

"Shield system. Warns us if anything nasty is coming, and keeps most things out. Also makes a high-pitched noise the particularly large beasties can't stand."

"So what would happen if the shield went down?"

The guard shrugged. "I guess we'd be chased out of here."

"You mean you'd have to leave this wonderful post?" Aiden smiled sardonically. "I think I would have turned it off myself a long time ago, just between you and me."

"You mean, like... sabotaging the system?" the guard said incredulously, but with a strange light coming to his eyes. "So I wouldn't be stuck down here..."

"I bet you have a wife you'd rather be with," Carth said sympathetically.

"Yeah, and a baby daughter," the guard grumbled. "But do I get any leave time? Monsters in charge of us, I'm telling you."

"I wouldn't put up with it, personally." Aiden crossed his arms. "After all, they shouldn't own your life."

"That's right," the guard said indignantly. "I'm my own person, and I don't need to put up with being down here. And if they won't send me home, I'll make it so they have to."

"That's the spirit," Aiden encouraged him. "You should never feel oppressed by your employers. Family first, you k now."

Muttering something about the evils of his managers, he opened a panel and started punching a sequence into the shield generator. "That'll show 'em, lousy kowakian monkey-lizards..." The guard made it through several more colourful descriptions of the higher powers in Czerka before a loud rumbling sound could be heard.

The leader of the group heard this, and started yelling. "What's going on? Did someone break one of the shield generators?"

"Only takes one," the guard smirked. "That's the problem with linked systems. Take one link out, the whole thing collapses." He looked up, and his face went slightly pale. "But for now... I think we'd better run."

Following the guard's gaze, Aiden and Carth saw why everyone was starting to evacuate. Before them stood a very large, rather angry looking beast of some sort. Not waiting for any further instructions, they ran like hell.

They ran for several minutes, but were sure to take paths that would be impassable by the gargantuan creature. Reaching a clearing, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Think that counts as getting rid of the scientists?" Aiden asked, gasping.

"Yeah, I think so."

"We should go back and raid their camp later. Bet they left some nice gear behind."

"You're a regular thief, Aiden Star."

"I like to consider myself a Jedi on a budget."

"Whatever," Carth stood straight and stretched. "Let's just get back to Jolee's before anything decides we look like dinner."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Leiraya looked up as Aiden and Carth entered Jolee's home. "Take care of the evil people?"

"Now, just because they're affiliated with a large corporation doesn't make them evil," Aiden pulled up a chair and plopped himself down.

"Sure, you just keep telling yourself that," she shrugged easily. "Did you take care of the people associated with evil?"

Aiden considered the merits of debating the nature of evil as it concerned Czerka corporation, and decided that it really wasn't worth it. "Yes, we took care of them. They're gone, and I kind of doubt they're coming back."

"And without killing them," Jolee nodded approvingly. "I appreciate when people don't come back to my house with the sense of blood all over them."

"Happy to oblige," Aiden shrugged and smiled.

"And I'm sure he knew he'd never hear the end of it if we actually killed people," Carth added.

Aiden nodded. "That too."

"So glad I can be such a good influence," Leiraya replied with the slightest tinge of sourness.

"Now, as much as I enjoy this banter," Aiden continued, "What I really want is to find two things: the Star Map, and this madclaw I'm supposed to get rid of so I can get Zaalbar back. I've helped you out. It's your turn."

"Madclaw?" Jolee echoed. "I think I know who you're talking about... and Chuundar put you up to this, didn't he?"

Aiden shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Well... yes. He's holding one of my crew hostage, and I really don't want to leave him here."

"Nor should you," Jolee agreed. "Chuundar is a vicious beast with no conscience. Which is why, I imagine, he doesn't mind sending you to kill his own father."

"His..." Aiden stopped. "His _father?_"

"I know Freyyr," he nodded. "Used to talk to him all the time... years ago..." he paused, trying to remember how many years it had actually _been_ since he'd spent any time with the elderly Wookiee. "But he's as much a victim of this mess as your friend Zaalbar is."

Aiden paused to consider this. "Okay... so no killing. But if I don't take care of his 'madclaw problem,' then I'm never going to get Zaalbar back without killing Chuundar... and a whole village of Wookiees... did I mention that the idea of fighting that many Wookiees doesn't thrill me?"

"There are other ways, son." Jolee reminded him. "You just have to be more sneaky."

"Well, do you know where I might find him?"

"I'll do better than that, I'll go with you." Jolee stood and smiled. "I'd like to see Freyyr again, after all."

Nodding, Aiden stood. "Then let's get moving. I'd like to take care of this sooner rather than later."

Jolee led the trio through the dense forest for several minutes without seeing any living creature. Aiden walked right behind him, and Carth stayed back to make sure Leiraya didn't fall behind. Her new cane, however, was much better for moving through the outdoors than the crutches had been.

Approaching a clearing, Jolee stopped. "Now, I think this is where he was living, last I checked. Keep your calm, since he won't recognize you-"

Jolee was cut off when an enraged roar cut through the clearing, and an angry mass of fur and limbs suddenly came running at the group. Aiden started to reach for his lightsaber, but Jolee batted his hand aside and stepped in front of the oncoming Wookiee. "Freyyr! It's me!" He had to block the Wookiee's blows, and Aiden tried to help by holding him back with the Force, but Freyyr was strong and angry. "Listen, you furry oaf, don't you remember me? It's Jolee, not one of those Czerka schuttas!"

Freyyr faltered for a moment, and Jolee gave him a good solid kick in the gut, knocking him backwards on to the ground. He looked up at Jolee, recognition finally coming to his eyes. "[I am sorry, old friend. It is hard for me to distinguish one human from another." Freyyr looked absolutely miserable. "[What a failure I am... too old and useless for my village, and too foolish to know when my friends are the ones coming."

"Don't say that," Jolee offered a hand to help the fallen Wookiee off the ground. "In fact, we're here to help. This here is Aiden Star, and he's friends with Zaalbar."

Freyyr's eyes dimmed at this mention. "[Zaalbar... I should have listened to him. I thought he was jealous of his brother. I was the one who drove him away, in favour of Chuundar. And now look at the mess we are in."

"Chuundar is a terrible leader," Aiden agreed. "Isn't there any way we could overthrow him?"

Freyyr laughed ruefully. "[Only in children's tales. In the old days, whoever held the blade of Bacca was considered the rightful ruler of the village. But the blade has been lost for centuries, and all we have is the broken handle."

"But, if we could find it, he'd be forced to give up his claim on the village, right?" Aiden knew it was a long shot, but it seemed to be the only shot he _had_, short of destroying the entire village.

"[Well... yes." Freyyr's eyes took on a hopeful light. "[If you could do this, much evil could be stopped."

"Well, then that's what we'll do." His voice projected much more confidence than he felt. "We'll recover the blade, get you back in the village where you belong, and set everything right."

He could feel Carth's skeptical gaze, but he kept his air of self-assurance about him. Nodding to the others, he turned and started to leave the clearing. "We'll be back when we have Bacca's blade."

"[I await your return," Freyyr nodded. "[May your journey be swift."

---------------------

"You are perhaps the craziest person I've ever met, lad." Jolee shook his head as they traipsed down an overgrown path. "Finding Bacca's blade in the Shadowlands? You may as well be asking to find your lost shoe in a Tatooine desert."

"I know, I know." Aiden sighed heavily. "But it's all we've got, unless we want to overthrow him the hard way. I'm not killing Freyyr, and I'm not leaving Zaalbar here if I can help it."

"Not to mention Chuundar works for evil people," Leiraya offered.

"Slavery isn't something I condone," Aiden agreed. "And I can't stand the idea of leaving Kashyyyk in the hands of someone who wants to sell the population to the highest bidder."

"Well, I don't know if you're ever going to find the blade," Jolee sighed, "but I'll at least take you to what you came for. It's in the lower Shadowlands, which is considerably nastier than it is up here. Bigger beasties, less people around to hold them in check."

Aiden nodded. "Might as well get one thing taken care of."

"It's going to be a bit tricky getting down there," Jolee stopped in front of what looked to be a complete dropoff. It stretched further than any of them could see, and the other side was a considerable distance off.

Aiden looked at the ravine, and looked back at Jolee. "You're going to tell me we have to cross this."

"Well, there is a slightly easier way, that Czerka set up. But, being Czerka, it's impossible to get across if you don't have all the right codes. I don't have the codes, nor do I have the patience to wheedle them from someone. They thought that would keep everyone out of the area, but they didn't count on beings that could climb. Or, more accurately," he paused and looked up at a collection of vines, "swing."

"You're joking," Carth looked at him incredulously. "We're supposed to swing all the way across _that?_"

"No, that'd be stupid," Jolee shot back. "See those islands strung across? They're too far apart to jump between them, but swinging across isn't so bad. You've just got to be sure to hang on, is all."

Leiraya looked skeptically at the chasm. "Jolee, my knee's doing better, but not _that_ much better."

Jolee considered this for a moment. "You're small, someone could carry you."

"Carry me?" She echoed. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"You have a better idea?" Jolee shrugged. "It's the only way across, and either you can let someone else help you across, or you can sit here and wait for someone- or some_thing_ to find you."

Leiraya grimaced, but nodded tersely. "Fine."

"All right, then," Aiden pointed at Jolee. "You first, since you're the one who knows what he's doing. Leiraya, Carth, you go in the middle. I'll bring up the rear, and make sure you two don't fall."

"Oh, this is going to be _madly_ entertaining..." Leiraya said under her breath, but made her way closer to the edge. Jolee deftly grabbed one of the kshyy vines and swung across to the first island.

"Here, catch this," he called, and threw the vine back. Carth grabbed it as it came back, and Jolee swung across to the next island.

Carth looked down at Leiraya. "You ready?"

"Of course not," she replied easily. "But that's not likely to change, so we'd best just get moving."

With one arm he wrapped the vine around his wrist to secure it, and with the other he reached around Leiraya's waist. Making sure she was hanging on tight, he tugged on the vine. "Hang on..." he lifted his boots from the ground and they swung with a moderate amount of gracefulness to the first island.

"See, was that so bad?" Jolee grinned, tossing the next vine to them.

"Possibly," Leiraya shot back, gripping her cane tightly. The last thing she needed was to lose it in a seemingly bottomless ravine.

They continued across, Aiden coming in easily behind them, and made it to the other side without incident. Jolee took the last vine from Aiden and hooked it around a tree branch. "We'll need that for the trip back."

"Oh, sweet merciful _Bailus,_ we have to do that again?" Leiraya looked helplessly at the old man.

"You have any other ideas of how we're going to get back?"

"I'm currently developing a theory of how we could fly," she shot back sourly.

"You let us know how that turns out, lass," Jolee smiled.

"Hey," Aiden said distractedly, "Look over here."

The others walked over to where Aiden was standing, in front of a marker of some sort. "What's this?"

"It's a ceremonial fighting ground," Jolee answered. "Wookiees, when they come of age, come down here to fight the Great Beast."

"Do any of them ever succeed?" Aiden looked warily about the area.

"Of course not. This monster's been here for centuries, they merely wish to say they faced the beast and made it out to tell the tale." Jolee started to back up. "And if we're smart, we'll get out of here before it smells us and decides we're worth eating."

"Too late." They turned to look at Leiraya, who was now very pale and looking upwards. Following her gaze, they saw why she had such a ghostly complexion. Towering above them was a very large, rather ugly brown beast with spindly legs and claw-like hands, looking at them with an expression of curiosity.

"Oh dear," Jolee sighed. "I'm getting too old for this..."


	20. Chapter 20

"Leiraya, I want you to back up very slowly," Aiden instructed. "Try not to fall off the cliff."

Nodding, she started moving away from the extremely large creature staring them down. "Yeah, good plan. And what, precisely do you plan to do?"

Keeping eye contact with the strange beast, Aiden merely shrugged. "Not die." 

Sensing that Leiraya was far enough away, he turned on his lightsaber and dove between the creature's legs, coming up on its other side. The beast looked confused for a brief moment, but quickly turned around and swiped a massive claw at Aiden. He deftly rolled out of the way, shoving the beast back with a wall of Force energy as he moved. 

"Carth," Aiden shouted. "Set up some land mines! I'm going to distract it!

"On it!" Carth reached into his pack and pulled out some of the small mines they'd collected on their journey. Wasting no time, he set them up in a line, completely blocking land access to one of the paths leading off into the jungle. 

Aiden, meanwhile, was jumping, diving, rolling, and trying to hack at the monstrosity with his lightsaber, with little success on the last. "You just about finished, Onasi?"

"Go for it," Carth yelled, clearing himself well out of the area. Aiden saw the line of mines, and bolted for them. The monster lumbered after him, an ungraceful mass of craggy joints and bad teeth. Running, Aiden waited until he was almost on top of the mines, then launched into a leaping flip that carried him up and over them. 

The beast seemed to get a curious look in his eyes, but he lacked the dexterity to even attempt to duplicate Aiden's maneuver, so it settled for advancing forward in a more conventional fashion. This more conventional fashion, however, did exactly what Aiden hoped it would- it caused a very large explosion, which knocked Aiden, Carth, Jolee, and Leiraya off their feet, and blew the beast into many small and roasted pieces.

Picking himself up, he brushed the small monster bits off him. "Well, that was effective."

"Effective, and just a little disgusting," Leiraya agreed, hoisting herself up with the help of a low-hanging tree branch. "You blew it up."

"Well, I'm not dead, am I?"

"Not yet, you're not," she frowned, brushing dirt and charred skin bits from her skirt. "You're killing my wardrobe, though."

"And yet, I will somehow manage to survive," he grinned. 

"Much unlike our fried friend, here," Carth observed, stepping closer to the still steaming pieces of monster corpse. "Looks like anything less would have only irritated him, though. See this blade just sticking out of his side?"

Jolee looked at it closer. "Wait a minute... that's not just any blade. See that inscription?"

Carth squinted. "Yeah, looks to be in some ancient form of Shyriiwook... you don't think this is actually... it can't be, can it?"

Jolee started laughing. "And here I was, thinking you'd never find it." He slapped Aiden on the back in congratulations. "You've blown apart a very nasty beast, and found Bacca's blade." 

Aiden blinked at it for a couple of seconds, then carefully reached down and pulled it from the crusty and charred flesh of the beast. "Who'd have guessed? The Force must really like me."

"Apparently so," Leiraya nodded, walking over to see the blade. "That has to be the most disgusting way to find a ceremonial blade I've ever seen. I can't believe it just lived with a giant sword lodged in its side."

"Tenacious creature," Aiden agreed. "Though I admit I'm surprised you're not reaming me out for cruelty to animals."

"I make exceptions for animals that try to kill my friends," she shrugged. "Though I might have preferred you knocked it unconscious or something."

"Knock it unconscious?" Carth echoed incredulously. "With what, an entire wroshyr tree?"

"Do you notice how I'm not making a big deal out of it?"

"And we're all very proud of you," Aiden grinned.

"You should stow that thing away, son, and keep moving," Jolee advised. "Nasty things tend to wander about these parts, and you've done a lot of fighting without a lot of sleeping."

"Right. Star Map." Aiden handed the blade to Leiraya. "Here, stow this in your bag, or something."

"You want me to put a giant sword blade in my shoulder bag?"

"Well... yes."

She made a sour face, but tucked it inside. "If this makes a hole in my trusty bag, I'm blaming you."

"And I am ready to accept that responsibility." He turned to Jolee. "So, where is the Star Map?"

"Not far from here, actually." Jolee started walking down a path parallel to the ravine. "Come along this way."

The trio followed him silently for several minutes down the path, stepping over vines, branches, and all manner of growths. The Shadowlands were treacherous, but strangely beautiful, Aiden had to admit. And though he knew he'd never been to Kashyyyk before, it all seemed oddly familiar. Most likely since he did his Watchman internship on a heavily forested world, though the forests of Carenis did not really compare to these forests at all... few forests in the galaxy were so dense, with the sense of sheer _massiveness_ that these had. But maybe Leiraya was on to something when she talked about getting to know trees. Maybe all trees, when it came right down to it, were the same.

And maybe he was turning into a crazy tree-hugger like her. He glanced back at her, pushing ahead through the undergrowth in spite of the obvious physical pain she was in. But... he couldn't see it in her face. No, she was about as happy as he'd seen her, eyes shining as she absorbed the nature around her. Carth, walking steadily next to her, looked more like he was ready to shoot anything that moved. No, Leiraya was the sparkling one of the group, even with her cane and the shoulder bag she carried everywhere with her, laden with supplies and now the blade of a sword. He never knew what to make of her from one minute to the next, but at this moment, in the deepest depths of Kashyyyk, where even the Wookiees feared to tread, she was absolutely beautiful.

With that thought, he snapped his head back forward. _Oh, I am in big trouble..._ Shaking his head, he turned his attention to Jolee. "So, how long have you been living down here, anyway?"

"Oh, a long time. Twenty years, I believe." Jolee chuckled. "Crash-landed and liked it so much I thought I'd stay for a while."

"Twenty years? Wow." Aiden shook his head. "I'm not sure I'd stay here that long."

"Ahh, the trees are nice, and the Wookiees really are charming neighbours once you get to know them... at least, they were before Czerka came in and made them hate humans."

"So you've pretty much explored everything down here, I'd imagine," Aiden commented.

"Most everything, yes. Keeps a man occupied." Jolee squinted. "Ha! There we have it." He pushed ahead to a small clearing. On the edge of the clearing sat a computer terminal, and a closed Star Map identical to the one on Dantooine.

"Looks like we've found it." Aiden reached for where he knew a button should be, but he found instead a cord, which led to the computer interface. 

Jolee walked up to the interface. "Yeah, I found this a year or so ago, but I haven't been able to get it to do anything. Just brings up this stupid hologram and tells me I can't access anything."

"Really?" Aiden peered at it, and as he bent close, a hologram of an unfamiliar alien species materialized on the platform, in what would be about a quarter of its normal size, assuming it had approximately human proportions. It started speaking, what he assumed was an automated response.

"Lifeforms detected. Determining Parameters. Initializing neural recognition."

"This is the part that I can never get past..." Jolee started.

"Primary neural recognition complete. Preliminary match found."

Jolee gaped at the machine. "What? That's not fair."

Aiden grinned. "It likes me more than it likes you."

The computer did not respond to this, but merely continued. "Greetings. This terminal has not been accessed for quite some time."

"Are you saying you've just been sitting here?" Aiden asked cautiously.

"Error. Subject displays unfamiliarity with environment. Behavioural reconfiguration will be needed before access."

"Behavioural reconfiguration?" Aiden echoed.

"I am sorry," the image apologized. "I did not mean to confuse you. I will answer questions to the best of my programming limitations."

"Irritating little thing, isn't it?" Jolee harrumphed. "Never tells you what you want."

"Who has tried to access this terminal?" Aiden asked the image.

"Sorting by identity." There was a slight whirring noise. "Three attempts by the Wookiee Freyyr, all denied. 152 Attempts by human Jolee Bindo, all denied."

Aiden raised an eyebrow at Jolee, who merely looked sourly at the computer. "What can I say? Call me stubborn, I guess. There really wasn't much else to do around here."

"Was Revan here?" Aiden asked the computer.

"Error. Data regarding subject "Revan" corrupted."

"What do you mean, corrupted?"

"Corruption has resulted in gaps appearing in my memory, and in that of the original installation," the computer responded.

"Corruption, huh?" Aiden looked over at Jolee, Carth, and Leiraya. "What do you want to bet that Revan came through and erased all the relevant information?"

The computer, apparently not caring that it had not been addressed, answered. "It could be theorized that these gaps are intentional, but I have no information on that."

"Well, do you have information on the Star Map?" 

"Accessing." There was a pause before it continued. "Yes, I have found a Star Map in my original system memory. Access is restricted."

Aiden frowned. "Well, how can I get to this data?"

"Your request requires additional security access. You must be made to match the parameters I have been supplied."

"Parameters? What do you mean by parameters?" Aiden looked helplessly at Jolee, who merely shrugged. 

"Subject is unfamiliar with the environment. Behavioural recognition process is required."

"Some lot of help you are," he muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, "And what if I don't match these parameters?"

"Then you are not worthy of further access. You will be rejected as unsuitable."

"Well, then, what must I do?"

The computer responded impassively. "I will evaluate your responses to a series of questions."

"Wait a minute," Aiden protested. "What good will _questions_ do you?"

Ignoring him, the computer simply continued. "Evaluation commencing. Results will be compared against the pattern in memory. Just act like you should."

"And the winner for vague instruction goes to..." Leiraya smirked. "Computers are by far overrated."

"Shush, you. You're not helping." Aiden sighed and turned back to the computer, which had started asking its first quesetion.

"You travel with a Wookiee and have encountered complications. Hypothetical: You and this Zaalbar have been captured and separated. If you both remain silent, one year in prison for both of you. However, if you accuse Zaalbar of being a traitor, and he will serve five while you serve none. He is offered the same deal, but if you both accuse the other, you both serve two years."

"Hey," Aiden pointed his finger at the hologram. "How did you know about Zaalbar? I've never mentioned him."

"I hear what happens on Kashyyyk, and a great deal beyond. Answer the question I have posed."

"How about I tear you apart piece by piece and scatter your circuit boards throughout the Shadowlands, never to be reconstructed again?"

The hologram was unfluttered. "Implied threat matches pattern in memory but subject has failed to demonstrate required recognition."

Aiden scowled. "Fine. I'd remain silent. Happy?"

"Are you sure?" The machine seemed almost confused by his response. "If you turn, you risk two years or none at all. If you rely on loyalty, you risk _five_."

"Yes, I'm sure," Aiden stated firmly.

"Your loyalty is dangerous. Your companion could take the opportunity to benefeit by turning on you."

"He wouldn't. Zaalbar has a lot more honour than you give him credit for, and you're not getting me to change my answer."

"Zaalbar's family is mired in treachery. What loyalty or honour do they know? Your answer is incorrect." Aiden opened his mouth to protest, but the computer merely continued. "Hypothetical: you are at war. Deciphering an intercepted code, you learn two things about your enemy. A single spot in their defense will be at its weakest in ten days and they will attack one of your cities in five. What do you do with this information? What is the most efficient course of action?"

"I don't like you," Aiden stated simply.

"Your opinion of me is immaterial. Answer the question."

"I'd protect the city, then. Evacuate if necessary."

"Evacuation would alert the enemy to the loss of their codes. Are you sure this is what you would do?"

Carth eyed the computer suspiciously. "It really seems to want a specific answer, doesn't it?"

Aiden nodded. "Yeah, and I don't like the types of answers it's coaxing. It's like it _wants_ me to answer a certain way. I don't get it."

"Well, if you'd like, I can help you tear the thing to shreds," Carth offered.

"No, I need to get to that Star Map. It'll have to happen some other way." Returning his attention to the computer, he replied. "We evacuate and deal with the consequences. I'd rather not lose a city." _Watching Taris was bad enough._

"Sacrificing the city would be the logical course of action. Your answer is incorrect." There was a pause and a slight whirring noise. "You do not match the pattern in memory. Subject has failed to demonstrate the required behaviour."

"Yeah, well, I didn't like your required behaviour," Aiden snapped.

"Your opinion is immaterial," the computer repeated. "Defense systems activated."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Carth muttered.

"With good reason," Leiraya pointed. Two 'droids emerged from what had appeared to be a pile of rubble, but apparently was not. Immediately, her free hand dove into her shoulder bag, removing two ion grenades. She quickly hurled them at the 'droids in rapid succession, but it did not do much to slow them down. 

Aiden ignited and threw his lightsaber, the cerulean blade whirling through the air, cutting through both the 'droids before coming back to his hand. It didn't seem to have much of an effect, but before he could come up with a better plan, his danger senses went off and he reflexively flipped back out of the way. Two thermal detonators sailed into the 'droids, turning them into twitching heaps of scrap metal. Aiden walked over, sliced off the few moving pieces left then turned back to Leiraya, who was putting the spare grenades back into her shoulder bag. "Good work."

Meanwhile, the computer was back to making whirring and clicking noises. "Behavioural recognition changed: you have satisfied the criterion."

"Huh?" Carth blinked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean, I now satisfy your criterion?" Aiden looked skeptically at the machine. "My answers certainly haven't changed."

"During battle your emotions were more clear and easier to read," the computer replied. "The Star Map is at your disposal." With that, the image disappeared and a Star Map looking just like the one they found on Dantooine materialized in front of them.

"All right, that was strange," Carth frowned. "What were the criterion? Why was this thing set up, anyway?"

"I don't know," Aiden shook his head. "And I don't really like it. Something's wrong about this."

"Revan was a tactical genius," Carth continued. "If he left this thing here, it was for a reason. And I can't imagine it's a good one. What if all that was one big ruse so it could signal Malak that someone was accessing the Star Map?"

"Well, it certainly isn't Malak's style," Aiden observed.

"No, but it _is_ Revan's. And he would have been the one to plan this."

"That still doesn't explain why Jolee could never access it." 

"Probably wanted a real Jedi," Jolee shrugged. "There are ways to detect that sort of thing."

"Well, if he knows we're here, then we'd best get moving." Aiden turned to leave the area. "Let's get that blade to Freyyr and get Zaalbar back where he belongs."

------

**Note: much of the computer's dialogue is taken directly from the game. Bioware did such a fantastic job with it, I thought I'd keep it just as it was. But if you think it looks terribly familiar, that's why. :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Aiden knew, certainly, that showing up on Chuundar's doorstep with his father and a severed blade was not likely to be received kindly. He also knew that Chuundar would probably try to talk him over to Czerka's side, hoping that maybe he wouldn't have to fight. Furthermore, he knew that when Chuundar failed at that, he would attack their crew.

_Knowing_ didn't make it any less irritating.

Aiden was a warrior, that he knew. He'd come up through the Republic military like any other solider, and been handed a destiny bigger than most for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom. And truthfully, he enjoyed a good fight. It kept him loose. But this, all this ridiculous fighting because some megacorporation was absurdly greedy? He liked to think he was fighting the good fight, but cutting down Czerka's muscle? It wouldn't stop the source of the problem, and the source of the problem wasn't his mission.

It was decidedly unfair.

However, the Wookiees didn't seem to care much about the intricacies of human politics. They just wanted Czerka gone, and were happy to assist anyone willing to smash the bad guys. Plus, Leiraya complained less about the fighting if it served a greater cause. And _that_ was a worthy cause if there ever was one.

"Is it over?" Leiraya poked her head inside the hut after the blasterfire ceased. She'd purposely kept far out of the way, as much because her knee really couldn't take a fight as for the fact that she was morally opposed to fighting.

"It is done," Freyyr nodded towards Zaalbar. "My son, I am glad you returned."

"I could have done no less," Zaalbar replied. "I am only glad my life-debt to this human also helped free our people."

"Bacca's blade is yours," Freyyr growled proudly. "The village will be in good hands under your leadership."

"You mean…" Leiraya looked from Freyyr, to Zaalbar, to Aiden and back. "Big Z is going to stay?"

"Well, he _does_ have a responsibility to his village," Aiden replied slowly. "And he's been away from home long enough."

"It's true," Carth agreed, though there was a distinct thread of regret in his voice. "We'd really miss you, big guy."

"Even though you don't talk much," Leiraya nodded. "I've always liked having you on board."

"Do not wax sentimental," Zaalbar warbled with a touch of amusement. "I am not going anywhere; my life-debt to Aidenstar still stands, and I will honour it."

"Are you sure?" Aiden asked. "We'd certainly be happy to keep you, but this is your home."

"This has not been my home for many years. And while it has been good being back… I would much rather stay with your crew."

Aiden smiled broadly. "Well, then, let's go find some more Star Maps."

Freyyr held Bacca's blade out towards Zaalbar. "Here, keep this with you. If you ever return home, we will be waiting for you. You will always have a place here."

"Thank you, Father." Zaalbar accepted the blade. "I will do my best to honour you with my actions."

"You already have, my son."

The trip back to the _Ebon Hawk_ was eventful, to say the least. Having caught wind of the sudden upheaval in leadership, Wookiees all over the village and all the way back to the ship were revolting against the Czerka personnel stationed everywhere. From the mechanics, to the guards, to the annoying sales representatives, everyone bearing the Czerka insignia was having a decidedly bad day. It was something of an adventure reaching the ship in one piece, but they made it.

"I don't think I ever want to see that many Wookiees fighting again," Carth observed, breathing heavily. "I'm glad we're on _their_ side."

"No kidding," Aiden agreed. "I didn't realize we'd set off an entire Wookiee revolution."

"It was about time," Jolee chimed in. "I think they should have thought of revolting a long time ago against those dirty corporates."

"Yeah, really. I-" Leiraya stopped when she saw Bastila standing before them with a slightly goofy grin mixed with a pained expression on her face. "Bastila… are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Bastila waved her hand dismissively. "Cleaning chemicals… not enough ventilation… and can you not all talk at the same time? Your voices clash."

"Our voices _what?_" Carth repeated incredulously.

"They clash," Bastila scowled. "Your voice is dark green, and Aiden's is lavender, and they look really bad together. So don't talk at the same time, you're giving me a colour headache."

Aiden and Carth stared blankly at her for several long seconds before Aiden replied, "What's a colour headache?"

Leiraya, on the other hand, had a flash of realization. "You're a synesthete… you hear sound and see colour, don't you?"

Bastila looked somewhat annoyed. "Well… yes. Among other things."

"Synesthete?" Carth looked from Bastila back to Leiraya. "How's that work?"

"It's a psychological condition," Leiraya replied. "It's when something in the brain didn't quite separate correctly during development, so things get associated. Sound and colour are the most common ones, but any sense can be involved… for instance, if you heard sound and tasted things, that'd be pretty terrible."

"You know an awful lot about this," Carth commented.

"One of my friends back on Corellia- Cyana- she's a synesthete."

"My voice is lavender?" Aiden sounded disappointed.

"Yes," Bastila replied wearily.

"Couldn't it be a different colour, like… I don't know, blue or something?"

"I don't get to choose what colour your voice is."

"Oh." Aiden was silent for several beats. "Then I can't trade with Carth."

"Not enough credits in the galaxy to make me trade vocal shades with you, buddy." Carth shrugged with a wry smile.

"Darn."

Bastila raised an eyebrow at them, then merely shook her head. "I'm going to bed. _You_ can look after Sasha for a while." With that, she turned on her heel and exited towards her bunk.

Aiden looked at Carth, and blinked. "Sasha _who?_"

"So let me get this straight," Aiden started ticking off bullet points. "While I've been gone, you found a stowaway who escaped from Mandalorian captivity, taught her Basic, scared her off, made friends with her again, and then she decided to clean the entire ship?"

Canderous nodded. "That sounds about right. Girl's smart. And apparently bored enough to be very industrious. I can see her Mandalorian captors taught her well."

"I would not be so proud of that," Juhani said distastefully.

"You may as well ask a Jawa to not sell junk," Carth shook his head. "Besides, that was a compliment to Sasha... I think."

"It most certainly was," Canderous scowled.

"Okay, let's not start any arguments," Aiden held out his hands defensively and inwardly sighed. "We've had enough fighting for one day."

"Where are we headed next?" Leiraya inquired.

"Let's see... we have our choice of Tatooine, Manaan, and Korriban."

"Personally, I'd like to avoid what amounts to the Sith homeworld for as long as possible," Carth stated flatly.

"I couldn't agree more," Aiden nodded. "I'm not ready to go there yet."

"So we have a choice between the desert and the ocean. I think it will be much easier to get around Tatooine- have you _heard_ about the court systems on Manaan?"

Aiden shook his head. "No, are they bad?"

"They're absurd," Carth grimaced. "It's unfortunate we have to go there at all, their regulations are so stiff. They at least try to maintain neutrality between the Republic and the Sith, but I wouldn't want to deal with them if we can avoid it."

"Maybe we should look into acquiring some false IDs?" Leiraya suggested.

"Tatooine is a notoriously criminal planet," Canderous nodded. "I doubt you'd have too much difficulty finding someone to accommodate you there."

"So Tatooine it is," Aiden nodded, and turned towards the cockpit. "I'll put the coordinates into the navicomputer."

"Sounds good to me," Carth agreed and followed, leaving Juhani, Leiraya and Canderous alone in the lounge.

"So.. where is this Sasha girl, anyway?" Leiraya asked the Mandalorian.

"Oh, running around somewhere, probably investigating some new corner of the ship. Kid's got an intense curiosity for technology. Chased T3-M4 around with a hydrospanner for about an hour one day." Canderous almost seemed to smile at that. "I think he's afraid of her now."

"I might be too, in his shoes." Leiraya grinned. "Where did you guys find her?"

"In the cargo hold, under some blankets," Juhani replied. "She looked so scared."

"Not as scared as she looked after Bastila frightened the living daylights out of her," Canderous smirked.

"What, Bastila's scaring small children now? I'm shocked," Leiraya rolled her eyes slightly. "Heck, _I'd_ be slightly terrified of her if I were little."

"She did not mean to," Juhani said reprovingly. "And they are getting along quite well, now."

"Sorry," Leiraya sighed. "I like to think I can get along with just about anyone, but she pushes every button I have."

"I can't imagine why that would be," Canderous commented sardonically. "You two are more alike than you think- both of you."

"It is true," Juhani agreed. "If you would talk to each other instead of teasing each other mercilessly, maybe you would see it." The Cathar crossed her arms and shrugged. "I do not know what goes on in your heads, obviously, but if there is one thing I have learned during my training as a Jedi is that this sort of dislike can grow into something larger, something more destructive. I would not like to see either of you go down this path."

Leiraya paused to consider this. It was true, neither of them had ever been willing to listen to the other. Then again, Bastila's willingness to leave her on a planet that was about to be destroyed hadn't gained her any points. Juhani was right about one thing, though- the genuine dislike between them was not going to be productive. Aiden could only do a limited amount of moderation between them.

"Maybe I'll track her down before we arrive on Tatooine," Leiraya finally agreed.

"That would be wise," Juhani gave her a small smile. "I understand you don't get along with most Jedi."

"That's an understatement," Leiraya made a face. "Have you tried being a pacifist when the rest of the Order thinks we should all be warriors?"

"I can see the difficulties." Juhani nodded, still smiling. "Though I confess I've never been much of a pacifist myself."

"A guardian through and through," Leiraya smiled. "Don't worry, I won't give you any speeches. I think you've been through enough lectures lately."

"That is certainly true," the Cathar nodded. "Though I deserved them all. To give into my anger was foolish, and hurt many people."

"Yes, but at least you recognize it." Leiraya smiled. "I think you'll be fine."

"I thank you for your confidence," Juhani nodded appreciatively. "I think I shall find some place to meditate."

Canderous, who had long since tuned out of the conversation in favour of recalibrating his blaster pistol, looked back up as Juhani left. "Huh. I think I'll find something else to fix around here." Nodding at Leiraya, he stepped out of the room.

Leiraya blinked at the somewhat odd mode of his departure, shrugged, and went to find something to do herself. At least, until Bastila was enough recovered from her bout with the cleaning chemicals to talk.

Bastila rolled over in her bunk, groaning slightly and not really wishing to get up. However, there was a mission, and she could feel that Aiden was planning their next move. If there was one thing she ought to be in on, it was the planning. She'd been out of the loop for too long. Not that she couldn't feel everything he felt anyway- up to and including his wandering thoughts about a certain barefoot Jedi- it was the principle of the matter.

She frowned. It didn't _bother_ her, of course. No, it couldn't. Jedi were not permitted to be jealous, and therefore... she wasn't.

_Brilliant logic,_ she silently berated herself. _Put your boots on, Shan, you've got a mission to fulfill, and it doesn't involve how you feel about Aiden._

Besides, Leiraya was completely not interested. If anything, she spent inordinate amounts of time with Captain Onasi which, while strange to her, did not bother her in the least.

Twisting her neck to loosen the knots, she made her way to the lounge, where Aiden and Carth sat, eating what appeared to be sandwiches of butternut paste and dried fruit. "Where are we heading next?"

"Tatooine," Aiden responded with his mouth still half full. "You feeling better?"

Bastila smiled inwardly as he swallowed. "Yes, much."

"Is the colour thing gone?"

She shook her head. "No, it's never gone. I just... try to ignore it most of the time. It's much harder to do when you have a massive chemical headache."

"Weird," Aiden said, then seemed to realise that was less than tactful. "I mean, in a good way."

"So, this synesthesia of yours- does it affect anything besides your hearing?" Carth inquired. "I did some research while you were asleep, found some interesting articles."

"I..." she shook her head. "I'd prefer not to discuss my mental illnesses, if you don't mind."

Aiden frowned. "It's not an illness, Bastila- just the way your brain is wired."

"Still." She was silent for a few moments. "Tatooine?"

"Yeah," Carth swallowed the last of his sandwich. "Safe haven for smugglers, largely controlled by the Hutts, overrun by Jawas... should be a good time. We'll be setting down in Anchorhead spaceport in two days."

"Good," Bastila rose, then turned to Aiden. "I'm going to go to the cargo hold to practice my saber technique- would you care to join me?"

"Hey, I'm always up for sparring with a beautiful Jedi." Seeing her raised eyebrow and slightly disapproving frown, he modified that statement. "I mean, a beautiful Jedi who can possibly kill me."

"Possibly?"

"Okay, probably. I'm working on narrowing the margin to possibly."

"That's much more like it." She grinned, and held out her hand. "Shall we?"

Aiden wiped his mouth with his napkin, pushed his tray back, and stood. "Bring it, sister."

Carth, left with only his thoughts and his tray, could only roll his eyes and smile.


End file.
